Beginning of a New Life
by rlpj4
Summary: AU. After the events of fourth year, Harry does not return to Privet Drive. He, with the help of Gringotts, decides to travel and learn as much as he can to help him in the fight against Voldemort. Super!Harry, Time-Travel!Harry
1. Opening Moves

**AN: This story was inspired by Rorschach's Blot and his story 'Make a Wish'. There will be skips in time, as I don't think it is necessary to detail all of the travel and training. After all, that would make the story much more similar to several others out there, and I want to get to other points in the story. I will add details when the plot requires them.  
**

Plot Summary: After his fourth year at Hogwarts, Harry decides before leaving Kings Cross to leave the Dursleys and seek training to help him face Voldemort. With assistance from Gringotts, thanks to his friendship with them beginning in the summer before his third year, Harry and a companion in need leave England and travel around learning. After the summer of training and traveling, they return to Hogwarts and await what the future has in store for them.

Pairing: Harry/Daphne Greengrass

Time frame: Summer after fourth year and fifth year of school

* * *

Fourteen year old Harry Potter knew that he couldn't stay with the Dursleys this summer. Not even because Voldemort was back. After all, he needed somewhere to train up to defend himself and others since Voldemort seemed to have targeted him for some vague reason that Professor Dumbledore had neglected to tell him so far. Harry wondered how he could escape, but the opportunity presented itself as the Dursleys drove by the Leaky Cauldron.

"STOP!"

"Why, Boy," Vernon asked, upset that the boy had yelled at them.

"I'll give you a couple gold coins."

"How do I know its real gold?"

"It's real," Harry said, showing him two gold galleons. "I don't know how much it is worth if you melt it, but you can take four of them if you let me out here."

"Will you call us to get you back to the house," Petunia asked.

"No," Harry said. "I swear on my magic that I will never set foot on Privet Drive again out of my own free will."

"Very well," Vernon said, as he looked startled at the flash that Harry gave off. "Just don't show up again."

"I promise I won't if I can help it," Harry said.

The teen handed his uncle four gold galleons and then got out of the car with Hedwig. He sent Hedwig to fly ahead to find him later, and then got his trunk out of the car. A few moments later, the Dursleys were traveling down the road and Harry was smirking. He'd gotten one over Dumbledore, and he'd sworn a magical oath that he wouldn't go back to Privet Drive willingly.

Of course, Harry had been planning this since he had found out that Dumbledore was his magical guardian and had not told him. Harry had found out during the summer before his third year when he spent several weeks in Diagon Alley after blowing up his Aunt Marge with accidental magic.

The goblins had been more than helpful to Harry, and had helped him move the items from the Potter Family Vault to a vault that Harry could access without Dumbledore's knowledge. It helped tremendously that Harry's mother was the heir of the Blackwood family, which was the only family of humans to ever own a portion of Gringotts. But they had given the shares back to the goblins in return for permanent preferential rates and services at Gringotts for their worthy heirs.

Harry's trust vault and the Potter Family Vault were under Dumbledore's direction, and he could tell if Harry withdrew anything from the vaults. But he wouldn't know if anything was moved to another vault, as that was handled as an internal Gringotts matter. Dumbledore could only see the amount of money in Harry's trust vault, as the contents of any Family Vault at Gringotts was only available to the Head of the Family or any designated person. And Harry was the Head of the Potter Family even if the Ministry didn't recognize him as a legal adult as they usually would.

There was something suspicious about that, but the goblins put it down to either Dumbledore or Fudge, who had an unhealthy interest in the Potter Estate since Harry's parents had died.

For now, Harry knew that he had to get back to Gringotts and they would help him establish an alternative identity to escape England and train for the summer, if not longer.

Due to Dumbledore's penchant for hiding things, such as the prophecy, from Harry, the teen hid things from the Headmaster. He hid how he was considered an adult by goblin law, and, as such, the Ministry would recognize him as an adult should he provide proof that Gringotts recognized him as a Goblin Friend and as an adult. At the suggestion of the bank manager, Lord Ragnok, Harry had withheld notifying the Ministry of Magic of his status as a Goblin Friend until he was recognized as an adult by the Ministry of Magic.

Furthermore, Harry was now an occlumens, and he hid his knowledge of things that Dumbledore wouldn't like him to know, or expect him to know, behind a special barrier. Not even truth serum could get him to reveal what he hid behind that barrier, but it was worth it to Harry. After all, the teen was becoming a brilliant rune scholar, thanks to the assistance the goblins provided him, including an undetectable goblin time turner.

He used the time turner regularly to study, and the time turner was special in that it took him to an alternate dimension whenever he was using it instead of using the same dimension. The alternate dimension was a goblin discovery, and it was virtually empty except when one of their time turners was used. The dimension would reorganize itself to meet the needs of the person using the time turner, and Harry usually had a nice house along with a large number of training aides, such as a spell range, a dueling arena complete with automated dueling dummy, and a house elf that joined him whenever he used the time turner. This was to provide him with a means of getting help if he was injured. The elf would be able to summon a goblin healer if he was injured or unable to respond for some reason.

Now, Harry slipped on the runic bracelet the goblins gave him. The bracelet wasn't just a glamour charm. It transfigured his body using a runic transfiguration method that Harry was currently studying. His alternate identity was that of a 21 year old man named James Smith. James had brown hair and blue eyes, along with a build similar to Harry's true build when he wasn't hiding behind his goblin-made bracelet to hide his true changes.

Harry had finally thrown the yolk of the damage of the Dursleys, and, thanks to the time turner, he regularly exercised and had great meals. This time turner allowed him to go back as little as ten minutes in time, enough to get a quick bite to eat before getting back to the normal time stream. His true form was slightly different than what everyone else expected.

His body was a bit bigger, and he was more the size of his father. He didn't look like a clone of his father. That was due to a spell that was placed on him as a child to prevent him from using his Metamorphmagus abilities. It was placed on him by Dumbledore when he was dropped off at the Dursleys, and Harry understood why it had to be placed when he was younger. But he didn't understand why it wasn't removed when he was eleven and could learn to control his abilities. That was unacceptable to the teen, and he knew that Dumbledore would have to answer a lot of questions for Harry before he would ever trust the old man.

A few minutes after being dropped off by the Dursleys, Harry entered Gringotts to the bowing goblins. The goblin teller recognized him immediately, and then motioned for him to follow.

When Harry sat down, he was in the office of his account manager, Griphook.

"Mr. Potter, how can Gringotts help you today?"

"Have you heard about what happened at the end of the Tournament?"

"We are most curious, Mr. Potter. There are rumors that you fought the Dark Lord again."

Harry handed the goblin a phial containing a copy of the memory of the event.

"I am willing to swear an oath on my magic as to the veracity of this memory."

Griphook nodded.

"I shall take it to the Director as soon as we complete our business."

"Thank you," Harry said. "All I ask is that you consider your options at this stage. I would prefer if you helped me, but I can handle the goblin nation remaining neutral."

Griphook nodded. This was what he and his bosses liked about Harry. He didn't presume the goblins would help him every time, but, instead, stated that he was willing to earn their help, or allow them to remain neutral, something other parties wouldn't do.

"Albus Dumbledore asked William Weasley to start talking to our managers and get us to support him in the fight against the Dark Lord."

Harry nodded.

"I suppose Dumbledore has restarted his vigilante organization?"

"You are correct," Griphook said. "I can't tell you the membership, but it is assumed Mr. Weasley and his family are heavily involved, as are the previous members who survived the war."

Harry nodded.

"Griphook, is there a way I can use the large time ritual room to go back to train?"

"I will have to get permission from the Director for this, Mr. Potter. You could use the small time turner to make a lot of time in the alternate dimension. You know how it works and you can never see another alternate as long as you never leave the dimension."

"I am aware of that. But I feel that I need to travel and study magic around the world in real time. Books are great, but there is something said about having a live tutor to help."

"I agree. You do have the standing agreement for one of our mages to train you in the time dimension for up to six months."

"I remember. If you don't mind, could you inform Director Ragnok that I would like to take him up on that offer?"

"I will inform him," Griphook said. "If you will please wait here?"

Harry nodded his assent and the goblin left to speak with the bank director, and one of the leaders of the goblin nation. Harry knew that the goblins would entertain his request as a goblin friend, and he would have to help them out as he could. But he was already going to do that with a planned campaign to allow goblins and others to have advanced rights in the wizard government that they had previously lost due to the greed and prejudices of wizards.

While Griphook was gone, Harry pulled out his book on gobbledegook and started to study it again. He was trying to learn the goblin language, and he was learning it well. He was in the advanced book already, thanks to the equipment he had purchased from a traveling merchant the goblins introduced him to. This merchant provided Harry with all sorts of things, and Harry had used the merchant as the middle man to sell off the carcass of the basilisk that he salvaged from underneath Hogwarts using the time turner earlier this year. It made both men and the goblins quite wealthy, as basilisk parts were quite rare and got quite a bit of gold per ounce.

Harry had tripled his fortune with selling the basilisk carcass, and the goblins respected him for doing that. It was no easy feat to triple a fortune of about 100,000 galleons in less than a year. And there was even more money available in the basilisk that Harry was getting throughout the next few years since there was so much basilisk available. Of course, having read up on potions, Harry knew that the basilisk parts were great in potions, and he had saved a large portion of the basilisk parts for his own personal use, just as the goblins did.

Harry just finished the last page in the book when Griphook returned with Ragnok. Harry stood in respect to the elder goblin.

"War Leader Ragnok," Harry said, in gobbledegook. "It is an honor to see you again."

"It is an honor, Mr. Potter," the goblin replied in his native language. "Please, have a seat. I have come to discuss your requests."

Harry nodded and waited for Ragnok to sit down in Griphook's comfortable chair before sitting himself. It was a mark of respect, and the goblins respected Harry for it. It was another reason he was a goblin friend.

"Mr. Potter, I cannot allow you to use the time ritual room. Unfortunately, it is being repaired right now and the Ministry is attempting to force us to destroy it. I cannot in good conscious let you use it or face the false accusations of breaking several treaties."

"I understand," Harry replied.

"As for the goblin mage, I can provide you with a goblin mage to train you in combat magic, warding, healing, and curse-breaking. You won't be able to learn all of our magic due to the way you humans must use magic and our rules, but I promise that no other human will know as much about goblin magic as you will."

"I am honored to receive whatever you deem me worthy," Harry said.

Ragnok gave a toothy grin.

"Mr. Potter, that is the reason that we are willing to help you as much as possible. I can say that we will support you as much as our neutrality will allow us to do. Due to the fear that we will be on the wrong side of a conflict, goblin law prohibits us from taking an active part in any wizard conflict between wizards or between other magical beings. We cannot afford to lose the business that fighting on either side would ensure we lost. And if we were on the losing side, the goblin nation would lose a lot more than gold."

"I understand. If I can get your promise of neutrality, I will be more than happy to respect your wishes."

"I can give you a promise of neutrality, Mr. Potter. As a goblin friend, however, we can help you train to learn more magic than a human can normally learn from Gringotts. And I will ensure that your preferential rates are extended to any vault you personally open, even if there are others who may legally access the vaults."

Harry nodded.

"Thank you, sir," Harry said, respectfully.

"Mr. Potter, you should return tomorrow using your portkey to the inner sanctum of Gringotts after 18 hours. At that time, your tutor will be introduced to you, and you will be given another batch of the potion to restrict your aging. And we will allow you to learn how to make this potion as long as you don't allow anyone else to learn how to make it."

"I am willing to sign any and all confidentiality agreements for this training," Harry said. "If it would make you and your people feel better, I will sign a blood oath not to teach anyone else what you allow me to learn without your express written permission. Of course, I would feel better if I were given an extensive list of knowledge that I cannot teach another without your permission."

"We can arrange that, Mr. Potter," Ragnok said. "The first agreement will be signed before you are trained. Then, when you return, we will provide you with a list of items that you cannot teach another. It will take some time to come up with this list, though we have already prepared a list of items that we are allowed to legally teach you."

Ragnok stood, and Harry and Griphook did the same.

"Mr. Potter, I do wish I could do more to help you against this Dark Lord. Gringotts goblins know that he will turn on us if your side loses, but our laws and several treaties prohibit us from taking up arms against wizards. When you return tomorrow evening, we will sign the contract and provide you with the list of items you cannot teach another. I will also go as far as to provide you with a list of potential tutors in magical subjects. We will contact them about training you to see if they would be amenable to discussing training options along with payment for the training while using a goblin time turner.

"This method will allow you to train in an alternate dimension while having time to rest and have a vacation that you richly deserve."

"Thank you, Director," Harry said. "I will remember how much you have helped me so far."

Ragnok and Harry shook hands, and then Ragnok left to return to his duties. Griphook sat down and motioned for Harry to do so.

"Mr. Potter, is there anything else I can help you with?"

"No thank you, Griphook. Unless there is something you have for me?"

"I do have notice that Mr. Dumbledore has been asking around about accessing the Potter Family Vault. As you know, it now contains the family jewels, and the heirlooms that you did not remove to your other vault. I can promise you that he will not be given access to this vault.

"Minister Fudge has made discrete inquiries as to the status of your accounts, and he has used Ministry resources to place a monitoring requirement on your Potter trust vault, which is the only Potter vault you can legally access right now due to your age and status."

Harry's other vault was still held under the name of Blackwood so he could access it without raising suspicion. He had a linked debit card, money bag, and wallet that would allow him to withdraw any denomination of any currency in the world. It was also this vault that contained the proceeds from the basilisk. And Harry knew that he could transfer assets between family vaults that would be combined into one once he had full access to all of them. But he couldn't transfer things from the Potter Family Vault to his Potter Trust Vault. Nor could he transfer from the Blackwood Family Vault to the Potter Trust Vault. It was only because of a loophole that he was able to fully access everything from the Potter Vault, including his family heir ring, which he wore on his right ring finger.

"That's fine, Griphook. Please let me know if they attempt to enter the vaults or stop my access at any time."

"As always, Mr. Potter. But I can tell you in confidence that Director Ragnok will demand evidence of any wrongdoing before that is allowed. And we know that you have not performed any crimes. Otherwise, you would not be a goblin friend."

Harry knew the goblins detested criminals, so a goblin friend who committed a series of crimes against the goblin law would no longer be goblin friends and would lose any preferential benefits. If they violated a wizard law but didn't violate goblin law, the goblin friend could seek asylum at any Gringotts around the world to be transferred to another country that allowed them to receive asylum. This was the goblin's way of protecting their friends from the unjust, prejudiced wizard laws that supported the purebloods in countries, especially in Europe and in communist countries such as China or dictatorships such as Iraq.

After thanking Griphook for his assistance today, Harry left Gringotts with a goal in mind. He was going to gather up the things he would need for traveling, and he knew that his trunk was sufficient to hold all of his belongings. He had to organize everything, and he would get a room at the Leaky Cauldron and spend the evening hours and morning hours determining what he had and what he needed. After all, he didn't want to purchase anything he didn't have to.

Though he was wealthy, Harry knew that to maintain that wealth, he would have to spend less than he had come into his account. He was considering ways to have an additional income, but all of the ways he knew so far were not going to be helpful right now. He wasn't knowledgeable enough about magic to create things to sell, nor was he able to patent a spell that he could sell to the highest bidder. The only way he had income right now was from the interest his Gringotts account received and the basilisk parts he sold through the traveling merchant.

Harry knew the man would be back in town later that day and he would be at Gringotts for the goblins and the few humans the goblins allowed in their inner sanctum to purchase things from him. They could also place orders and the man would do his best to legally find the items the clients wanted.

And this would be a good chance, as the man had a large selection of merchandise, though he didn't peddle books, other than rare tomes worth a good bit. But the goblins would allow Harry to purchase copies of certain books they had, and Harry had taken advantage of that to increase the size of his library. One of the goblin archivists had assisted him, for a fee, in taking an inventory of his family library and copying it so he could carry copies of the books in his trunk. He had an accurate list of the books he owned, and knew that he had several thousand books that it would take him years to read and study.

The Potters had a great selection of books on warding, defensive magic, and combat magic. The Blackwoods had a large selection of books on potions, runes, and spell creation. Both libraries had the requisite books for study to the NEWT level or even beyond in most legal areas in the wizarding world. They even had books that were named illegal after they had legally purchased them. Neither library had many ancient books other than heavily edited translations the owners sold.

After making up his mind, Harry decided to go to the Leaky Cauldron and get a room. He signed in as Richard Smith, using the middle name of his alias, James Richard Smith. It would throw off anyone looking for him, as he was sure that Dumbledore was looking for him now. Tom delivered a great dinner to Harry and the teen retired to his room for the evening, taking his trunk and using the time turner to go into the alternate dimension to take an inventory of his belongings and check it off against the items he thought he might need for a world-wide journey.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore sighed as he looked at No. 4 Privet Drive. It was in flames, as the Death Eaters had appeared, along with Voldemort himself, when the wards had fallen. The Ministry Aurors had responded in force, thinking Harry had illegally used spells, but Voldemort himself killed a few of the Aurors before the Order of the Phoenix and Albus Dumbledore arrived.

Now Voldemort was in the open after a failed chance of taking out Harry when he was thought to be relatively undefended. Minister Fudge had been in shock, and Amelia Bones had initiated proceedings to remove Fudge as Minister of Magic until his part in concealing the return of Voldemort was determined. Lucius Malfoy had been killed by Aurors on the scene, and Peter Pettigrew had been captured by responding Order of the Phoenix Members.

The shock of capturing a live Peter Pettigrew vindicated Harry's efforts, and Minister Fudge had seen the writing on the wall. Director Bones had ordered that Aurors Shacklebolt and Tonks guard Pettigrew and keep him unconscious until his interrogation so he couldn't escape. Dumbledore even placed anti-animagus charms on Pettigrew to keep him from transforming into his animagus form.

But there was another problem. The Ministry and the Order of the Phoenix wondered where Harry Potter was. The Dursleys had perished in the spell fire after it was found out he had not returned to Privet Drive. That avenue of gaining information was closed, so Dumbledore sent out his people to find Harry, starting first at Diagon Alley, as that was one of the first places Harry would go. He would need money if he were to rent a place to stay.

And Dumbledore would go query the Gringotts Goblins to see if any withdrawals had been made from Harry's trust vault.

Several hours later, a mystified Albus Dumbledore knew Harry had not withdrawn money from his trust vault, nor had anyone seen him in Diagon Alley. Severus Snape reported that Voldemort had people looking for Harry, so Albus knew that it was a matter of time before he was found and captured by Voldemort's forces. After all, the boy was untrained and wouldn't be able to handle the Death Eaters if they ganged up on him. And he definitely wouldn't be able to escape Voldemort without an insane amount of luck since he wouldn't have a portkey to escape.

**AN: Though I do not normally like to post unfinished stories, I think posting the story will give me the boost I need to write it and complete it in a timely fashion. I will try to post four to five chapters a week until the story is done, but I can't promise that I will be able to do so becuase of school and work. I don't know how long the story will be at the moment, but I hope it will be over thirty thousand words.**


	2. Plans take shape

**AN: I do have an idea of several plot points I have. I will be grateful if you would review and provide me with ideas that could be used in the story, especially near the middle. Harry will be an animagus, but I think it would be best if he has one form. I will post a poll with some of the normal choices I have used before to see what you think. Please select your top two choices. Thank you for reading.**

After a grueling few days of inventorying his supplies and belongings, Harry had a list of items that he would need. He'd decided to purchase a spare wand, a wizarding travel tent complete with kitchen, food supplies, clothing appropriate for several environments, a rucksack to carry his belongings, a travel guide, and a reusable portkey.

He already had a portkey license and an apparating license in his second identity thanks to the goblins. He knew he could safely do both thanks to the training and studying he'd done under the paid tutelage under Fleur Delacour. He'd paid her to teach him to apparate and make a portkey, and she'd been sworn to secrecy about this since he was underage. She had agreed to aide him after the third task, and she had been surprised to find that he was a goblin friend, just like she and her family were. It would make things easier for him in the long run, as he had friends he could turn to if he ever got in a bind.

Harry had also promised to visit her in France this summer if he got the chance, so he made a note to send her a message as James Smith, his alias she was very much aware of. He said that he would be leaving England for most of the summer and would like to visit with her to further their friendship. That would leave it up to her, and Fleur knew that Harry wasn't looking to get into her pants. He'd made that clear since he wanted friendship first, romance second at this time. But he wouldn't be opposed to dating her if they felt it was a good option.

Upon awaking after a good night's sleep in the bed, Harry made his way downstairs to eat breakfast. He sat down at a table and Tom wordlessly handed him the _Daily Prophet _along with a cup of hot tea. Harry looked at the headlines and almost spat out the tea when he caught the large photograph of Voldemort in front of a burning house on Privet Drive.

**YOU-KNOW-WHO RETURNS, PERSONALLY KILLS BOY-WHO-LIVED'S RELATIVES!**

**PETER PETTIGREW CAPTURED ALIVE, SIRIUS BLACK INNOCENT!**

**AURORS KILL DEATH EATER LUCIUS MALFOY IN BATTLE**

**FUDGE ARRESTED FOR CONCEALING RETURN OF DARK LORD **

**WIZENGAMOT NAMES BONES MINISTER OF MAGIC IN EMERGENCY SESSION**

Harry quickly read the articles and smiled. His godfather was now free, and he would never have to grace the doorsteps of No. 4 Privet Drive ever again. It was a major benefit for him. And now that the world knew Voldemort was back, things would be easier for now. But then there was the issue of Fudge and Malfoy. But he still needed to train, and the only way he expected Dumbledore to allow it was when Harry was controlling his own actions.

He closed the paper and ate his breakfast at a sedate pace, knowing that he had been vindicated and his godfather would be celebrating his freedom. The paper said that Sirius had been fined for being an illegal animagus, ordered to register his animagus form, and given ten thousand galleons per year of his illegal incarceration. Pettigrew had been sent to Azkaban for after having his magic bound for being an illegal animagus. The teen knew his godfather would be worried, so he would send him a note telling him that Harry had struck out on his own to find someone who would train him to face Voldemort, as the prophecy stated.

The note was sure to find its way to Dumbledore, and the old man would surely have a heart attack, or at least a major surprise, when he found out what Harry knew. And he would want to know how Harry knew this and why the using legilimency on Harry had not revealed this. Harry, of course, wanted to see this when it happened, as it would be a great memory to have. He would later ask Sirius to give him a copy of the memory, especially after Harry picked up the pensieve that the Traveling Merchant, American Adam Greenleaf, had picked up for him.

After paying for breakfast with a galleon, Harry headed toward Gringotts to meet with the merchant to see if he had the items he needed. Harry wanted to use this merchant because he got a great deal from the man after he had helped him make great money peddling basilisk parts. Besides, Harry wanted to see if some of the items he'd ordered, such as a wizarding tent, had come in.

"Hello, Mr. Smith," The man said, with a grin. He used Harry's alias, as the man's name, Adam Greenleaf, was an alias as well.

"Hello, Mr. Greenleaf," Harry said.

"I was able to find the items you requested," he said. "Have a look."

The man brought out a box that was labeled "Smith, Gringotts London". Harry looked through the items and found the pensieve. It was a large solicitor's pensieve which would allow him to determine if a memory was false, or to project the memory in a room. Harry smiled and nodded when he saw the pensieve. It was better than he could hope for. The wizarding tent was great, as it had a full muggle/magical hybrid kitchen, a food storage area, and even a potions area complete with an ingredient storage chest. There was one bedroom and a study, making Harry smile. This was a great traveler's tent. The next items on the list, namely potions ingredients and wand-making ingredients that were hard to find in the UK, were all available in more than the quantity Harry asked for.

"This is brilliant," Harry said. "How much do I owe you?"

"I deducted five thousand galleons from your proceeds from the latest basilisk sales," The man said. "And this is your certified draft for the proceeds."

Harry looked at the draft. It was almost a hundred thousand galleons.

"I don't want to know how you're selling this without making the prices go lower."

"I have my ways," The man said, mysteriously. It was one of the things that he didn't speak of. "Say, do you have any of these items? I'm looking to purchase them for a client. He's willing to pay top dollar."

Harry looked at the list the man had. He did a good trade in items, and Harry knew that this was how the traveling merchant worked. After a few minutes, Harry spoke.

"Yes, I do have a few of these items," he said. "I won't need them anymore."

"Would you be willing to sell them?"

"Sure," Harry said. "I was going to throw them in the charity basket."

Harry pulled out his trunk and pulled out a box from the third compartment of his seven compartment trunk. He opened the box and removed the items for the merchant's inspection. These were mainly muggle items that Harry had taken and repaired from the Dursleys. He could get good money for them from enchantment specialists who wanted to have some of these items to play with for a decent cost.

Harry sold these items for a couple hundred pounds, which was more than he would have gotten selling them to muggles. He placed this cash in his bag, and placed the draft in his bag as well. The draft would be sent to Griphook to deposit the requisite amount of cash from the merchant's Gringotts Account.

"It's nice doing business with you, Mr. Smith."

"And you too, Mr. Greenleaf," Harry said. "I shall be traveling the world soon. Are there any items you want me to keep an eye out for?"

The man nodded and handed Harry a list.

"These items always sell very well. And I'm on the lookout for these books. Some of my clients have a hard time finding legal copies of the books in their own countries due to restrictions on publishing."

"If if I find anything, I will send it to the nearest Gringotts Branch and ask them to send you notice," Harry said. "Is that acceptable?"

"It is. I look forward to working with you in the future, Mr. Smith."

Harry nodded and then left the area to shop in Diagon Alley. As he shopped, he noted that the crowd had dissipated slightly. There were also people like Remus Lupin and even Sirius speaking to various merchants and street vendors asking if they had seen Harry. The teen knew that they wouldn't have seen him, as he was not dumb enough to appear in his own form in these dangerous times.

Harry soon finished off his shopping list, making the owners of the Leaky Cauldron, Gump's Travel Shop, and the Green Grocer very happy with his large purchases from them. He purchased enough food to last for quite a while, as he knew that he would be living on his own, and might pick up a few friends along the way he wanted to feed. There was the large Butterbeer purchase from Tom at the Leaky Cauldron, and the purchase of the traveling bag, the traveler's clothing set, and the Traveler's Guide to the Magical World from the travel shop.

A few minutes later, he was in his room packing everything into the tent and his trunk. All of his food supplies went into the tent, thought some of the Butterbeer was going to stay in his trunk for easy access while traveling and staying in hotels. His clothes were likewise going to be placed in his trunk. The old clothes from the Dursleys were piled in a box that he would give to a charity. After all, someone would want these clothes to wear.

* * *

That evening, Harry went to Gringotts using the portkey that he had been given. He arrived and found that Ragnok and Griphook waited on him. Griphook was carrying a bag that would contain the books Harry would use in his studies.

"Mr. Potter, it's nice to see you again."

"And you too, War Leader Ragnok," Harry said.

"Before we begin, you will be provided, free of charge, copies of all of the books used in your training. I only ask that you do not let anyone else see them."

"I thank you for this," Harry said, with a slight bow to the elder goblin.

"Now, we must sign the confidentiality contract and you will receive the copy of the items you may not teach another."

Harry nodded. The contract was signed and the two shook on it.

"Finally, Mr. Potter, if, upon the recommendations of Mage Wartooth, you are deemed worthy, we will provide you with hands on training in curse-breaking and warding as a part of a goblin warding or curse-breaking team outside of Europe. We have discovered a way of sending you back in time for up to ten years so you may train with our teams and have the time to graduate from Apprentice to Journeyman to Master in each field."

"I appreciate it," Harry said, with a smile. "If I am deemed worthy, I would like to work with your teams."

"We will discuss this upon your return, Mr. Potter. For now, Mage Wartooth and yourself should get going. You have a lot of training to accomplish, and I suggest that you turn back time for one year."

Harry nodded as he took the potion vial Ragnok handed him.

"This phial will work for one year of time travel using our time turner," he said. "Like always," he had to add.

Minutes later, Harry and Wartooth were in the alternate dimension. Wartooth told Harry what he would expect, and the teen knew it was going to be a very long year of training in this alternate dimension. But it would be worth it in the end.

While training in the alternate dimension, Harry learned a lot about the theory of magic and wand magic. The goblins kept an impressive history of wand magic and wand lore though they were prohibited by a treaty from possessing wands. They used to make and use wands and staves, but a war stopped that when the Wizards, allied with Vampires and the House Elves, forced the Goblins to surrender and sign a magical treaty for all of them that prevented them from using magical foci.

Harry learned a lot of ancient battle magic and warding done with a wand that modern wizards wouldn't know. After all, goblins had advanced from wand magic to wandless magic, while wizards had regressed from wandless magic to wand magic over the years. There were two dozen definitive books on goblin wand magic, ward magic, healing, and curse-breaking techniques that Harry learned while in training. All of these techniques depended on the user to be able to use a wand or a focus, and Harry was the first being in several centuries to be able to legally use this magic.

With a wealth of new spell knowledge, Harry left the Transdimensional training location and returned to the place he left.

Ragnok grinned when he felt the magic of the two returning. He looked Harry over, as the teen had gone without his glamour bracelet.

Harry's body had grown until he was his adult height and weight. He was 5'11" and weight just under twelve stone with his stocky build. It turned out that he had inherited his build from his mother's side of the family, as his grandfather had been stocky. His black hair was spiked, as he didn't like long hair. And he had a mustache on his ruggedly handsome face.

"I see your training did wonders for you," Ragnok said. "How was it?"

"It was brilliant," Harry said, in his baritone voice. "I learned a lot, and I am amazed that you goblins knew so much magic wizards don't know or forgot how to do."

Ragnok grinned.

"And that is why they forced us to relinquish our wands. You should be on a par with the best Aurors in terms of magical knowledge. At least for types of spells. Master War Mage Wartooth, how did Mr. Potter fare in his training?"

"War Leader Ragnok, War Mage Potter has graduated from the Standard War Mage Training Program and is fully eligible for the Warding and Curse-breaking Training programs."

"And his healing?"

"He is fully rated as a field healer and can use some wandless magic."

Ragnok nodded.

"I expected as much. Mr. Potter, if you are willing, I would like to send you back to the past with this letter. When you get there, bring it to me and show me your ring. It will prove your identity, and then I will arrange for your training as a curse-breaker and a warding specialist."

"Where will I train?"

"You will train in curse-breaking in Egypt, the best place to learn those subjects," Ragnok said. "Expect a very hard training program."

"Sir, would it be possible for me to wait until the end of the summer and more training? I would like to at least have taken the NEWTs and OWLs to get appropriate grades."

"Indeed, Mr. Potter," Ragnok said. "I can concur with this. If you wish, we send you back and you can return to your vacation after you graduate from the training programs."

Harry nodded as a goblin appeared and spoke to Ragnok.

"Excuse me, War Leader Ragnok," the goblin said. "But I have an emergency situation."

"What is it, Grimtoe?"

"The Greengrass Family has been all but murdered. The Heiress is in the office of Account Manager Goldtooth as we speak."

Ragnok nodded.

"It seems the war is going to get worse, Mr. Potter," Ragnok said. "The Greengrass Family is the only other family that has status as goblin friends in the United Kingdom. If you will wait, I would like to see if you would take Miss Greengrass with you to train. I'm sure she will appreciate the training and will be willing to provide her own support during this. The Greengrass Family is several times wealthier than your family."

Harry nodded.

An hour later, Harry was escorted to the place where a grieving Daphne Greengrass lay on a sofa. Harry was going to assist her as much as possible, and then explain the offer for her to travel with him this summer to train and have a vacation.

He smiled softly and then cleared his throat.

The girl took one look at him and then threw herself into his arms, sobbing. Harry didn't know what to do with a sobbing girl, so he gently patted her on the back as she clutched his robes tightly as she sobbed.

A few minutes later, and the girl had slowly stopped sobbing. She looked up at Harry with teary eyes and then backed away suddenly.

"Potter."

"Daphne," Harry said, in a soft voice.

"What are you doing here?"

"Ragnok asked me to speak with you," Harry said.

"Why," the brunette asked, her soft almond eyes filled with curiosity.

"It seems we are both goblin friends, and that alone is a special thing since we are the only two in the United Kingdom."

Daphne teared up again.

"I'm sorry," Harry said, suddenly. "I'm not too good at talking to people."

Daphne snorted in amusement.

"Hanging around Granger and Weasley makes me wonder why. Speaking of questions. Why is the Gryffindor Golden Boy concerned with a Slytherin like me when you could be out shagging your fan girls after you were proven to be right?"

Harry smiled.

"Well, I'm on an unauthorized vacation, and thought you might could use one too."

Daphne snorted.

"Who would authorize it?"

"Dumbledore thinks he can control what I do," Harry said. "I wouldn't be surprised if he cut me off from all communications with the Wizarding World if I had gone back to Hell."

"Hell?"

"Otherwise known as No. 4 Privet Drive, the home of my abusive relatives," Harry said, before clamming up about his history.

Daphne gave him a curious look.

"Why would you help me?"

"You look like you need it," Harry said. "And I do have an offer."

"What kind? I'm not the type to shag. I'm a virgin."

Harry smiled.

"Not that kind of offer. I'm going to travel around a bit and then train with some people using a goblin-made time turner. Would you like to join me?"

"Would you let me fight the bastards?"

"I will," Harry said. "I can't control you. I can only help you and help make sure that you don't do something stupid."

"And who will keep you from doing something stupid, Potter?"

"I guess you might," Harry said, shrugging his shoulders. "But that is yet to be determined."

Daphne gave him a slight smile and then she spoke.

"Well, what will we be doing?"

"We will be traveling to France first and meeting with a ritual teacher. There, we will learn several rituals that will increase our learning abilities and help us with certain traits."

"What kind of trait?"

"The teacher is a veela, so I suppose a lot of it will be sex magic."

Daphne's lips curled upwards as she considered what that meant.

"Yes, I'll go with you. But don't expect me to be your partner if we have to have a sex partner. I'd rather go solo."

Harry smiled at her.

"Solo is a good way to relax," Harry said, speaking from experience.

After Daphne agreed to go with Harry and train, Ragnok assisted her in setting up another identity. She had two identities to use and two rune glamour bracelets. The first was going to be Rose Smith, the wife of James Smith. Rose Smith would be a blonde-haired blue-eyed 20 year old muggle-born witch. Daphne's second identity, Sarah Brown, was also a 20 year old muggle-born witch, with green eyes and blonde hair.

Harry didn't need to adapt another identity, but he chose another one. This one would be Orion Brown, a muggle-born wizard with red-hair and blue eyes. Ragnok seemed to enjoy making up these identities, as it was a long time since he or another goblin had been involved in espionage techniques at this level.

And the best thing was that with the money Gringotts commanded, it was easy to get them legal passports and other necessary papers. This included a false education trail that would be updated and modified slightly when they got their actual exam scores. Or at least got an approximation of their actual knowledge levels. This would be more important later on if they were applying for a job or a formalized apprenticeship.

* * *

After a restful night of sleep in a bed at Gringotts, and several hours of preparing their alternative identities and making arrangements for portkeys, the couple headed out to the apparating point at Diagon Alley. They would use a portkey there to make sure that people saw them leaving.

Daphne would leave via portkey alone and meet Harry in France. It was best that way to make sure that people didn't get suspicious. And Harry knew that traveling alone was best for the moment. At least until they were out of England. That way, no one could be sure who was going where until they were already there. And, by then, they would have a plan in place to take care of themselves.

As Harry walked out of Gringotts as John Smith, he smiled at Daphne, who walked out briskly a few moments after him. He stopped along the way to have an ice cream and to make sure Daphne got out safely. After all, he felt responsible for assisting her as much as possible. Daphne would appreciate it, he knew.

He ate his ice cream quickly and then watched as Daphne used her portkey. She disappeared and he got her signal a few moments later that she had arrived at her destination safely. He signaled back by activating the alert charm on a coin in his left pocket.

After vanishing his refuse, Harry stood and headed to go to the portkey point. That was the only point in Diagon Alley where it was legal to apparate or use a portkey after the declaration of emergency that Minister Bones had declared as her first official act.

The only reason Harry knew this was because of the notices put up on the buildings around Diagon Alley by Ministry flunkies.

A few moments before he got there, an incoming portkey deposited a dozen Death Eaters in the middle of the point. They started attacking immediately, taking down the three Aurors guarding the area, and then starting to attack the fleeing innocent people.

Harry knew what he had to do, and he pulled out his untraceable wand, which he'd specially made under the tutelage of Wartooth. He sent a mass stunning spell out at the Death Eaters, taking out five of them when he caught them by surprise.

Their friends turned their attention to Harry as another wave of Death Eaters appeared and joined the fight.

With two more mass stunning spells, Harry caught two more unaware of the spell, but he knew that he had a lot of trouble. After all, twenty Death Eaters, including one insane Bellatrix Lestrange, were attempting to take him out by firing a massive amount of spells.

Harry was dodging and shielding as well as firing. He was taking Death Eaters out and knew that reinforcements would have to come soon if he wanted to make it out of here alive. He could leave via the portkey, as the goblin-made portkey would get him through the wards, but he couldn't leave the civilians with all of these Death Eater around.

After several more moments of dueling, Harry started to use goblin battle magic, as the Death Eaters wouldn't have a shield that worked well against it. Some of them managed to shield from his blasting spells, but the backlash of the spell hitting their shields knocked some down or even knocked their wands out of their hands, making them easier targets for the few who were starting to fight back.

A flurry of Goblin Battle Magic made short work of the Death Eaters, and Bellatrix Lestrange was now missing her head after not noticing the spell an Auror sent at her while she was shielding against one of Harry's spells.

Once the Death Eaters were down, and there were a dozen Aurors arriving, Harry activated his portkey and left. It wouldn't do to be questioned by the Ministry. After all, some of them were inclined toward Voldemort, and he didn't want this information getting to them. It was better to have him being a mysterious person using mysterious magic than anything else.

* * *

At Diagon Alley, Auror Nymphadora Tonks was examining the Death Eaters. Nearly half of the Death Eaters were dead from the unknown wizard and the unknown magic he used. She didn't know what to think, as her aunt, Bellatrix Lestrange, was one of those. Interestingly enough, most of the Death Eaters were known pureblood supporters of the Fudge Administration, and even included some of the low-level flunkies Fudge had hired on at the Ministry.

Tonks looked up as Headmaster Dumbledore and Minister Bones arrived at Diagon Alley to see what was going on. It was obvious that there was a new player in town, and both the Ministry and the Order of the Phoenix would try to find out who he was. Several people knew him by the name of James Smith, and that was all they knew.

They didn't know where he had come from, but did know that he spent a lot of time at Gringotts in the past few days. That avenue was shut, as the Gringotts goblins would never talk about any of their clients.


	3. The Plan Begins

**AN: Thanks to all of you who have reviewed the story so far. I hope this chapter meets your expectations. The poll for Harry's animagus form is still up. I can guarantee that he will have a form, but there is no guarantee he will be able to use the form in the time frame of this story.**

When Harry got to France, he looked around for his companion. He found her waiting at a coffee shop drinking a cup of hot tea. He walked over to her.

"Hello, Sarah."

"Hi, James," Daphne said, brightly. "How was your stay in England?"

"It was ok. It ended badly with a few Death Munchers."

"Oh," she asked, looking at him. "What happened?"

"Right as I was getting ready to leave Diagon Alley, they arrived. I had to stop them from attacking the people. I don't know how many of them were killed, but I do know that the Ministry will be looking to question me."

"Why is that?"

"I used goblin battle magic."

"Ah," Rose said. "Well, I made contact with our first tutor. She and her sister have agreed to teach us. We're to meet them in Nice at this address."

Harry glanced at the note and noticed it was charmed. Daphne smiled at him and then motioned for him to sit down.

Harry sat down and then Daphne spoke again.

"We have a few days before we have to be there. What do you want to do in the mean time?"

"I need new clothes," Harry said. "I have a few things, and I could use an expert's advice."

Daphne's eyes lit up with excitement and she smiled.

"We are in the right city for this," Daphne said. "I've shopped here before and it is a great place for clothes shopping. After all, Paris is the home to many top notch boutiques. Do you have any type of clothes in mind?"

"Not really," Harry said. "But I do need a few clothes that will be appropriate for our travels. I think you should check out my wardrobe and make your suggestions."

"I can do that," Daphne said. "As long as you pay for your own clothes. Now about our room arrangements."

"I've contacted a hotel, and we'll stay in Paris for a night or two," Harry said. "I didn't know how long we would be, so our friend made arrangements for us to have two nights at the Hotel Duc de Saint-Simon under my name."

"Is it…"

"A suite with a king sized bed."

"That will work fine for now," Daphne said. "But I'm warning you…"

* * *

Hermione Granger, best friend of the Boy-Who-Lived and his side-kick, Ronald Weasley, woke up the morning after she had gotten home from Hogwarts. As the warm water from the shower hit the bushy-haired witch, her mind turned to her best friends and what they were doing. Hermione knew that her parents had been quite upset with the events of the past year once they had gotten her to talk about it.

There was even talk that she would be removed from Hogwarts. Hermione didn't know who had told them, but her parents had said that they had gotten a letter from the school that detailed some of the precautions being taken to protect Hogwarts from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, as the letter put it. And Hermione had been forced to sit down and discuss several things with her parents, especially about the Tri-Wizard Tournament and her date with International Quidditch Star Viktor Krum.

Over all, Hermione thought that she had managed to convince her parents to let her stay at Hogwarts, but she was worried that she would have to defend her choice again if her parents learned more about what was really happening in the Wizarding World. After all, Hermione's parents, Charles and Rosalind Granger would be reading the _Daily Prophet,_ as the couple had taken a subscription out to the paper after they learned Hermione was a witch.

Her shower done, Hermione toweled off as she considered what she should discuss with her parents.

Downstairs at the kitchen table, the elder Grangers were discussing the newest paper from the Wizarding World. It was later than normal, and Hermione was curious as to what had their attention.

"Hermione, darling, please sit down," Charles said to his daughter. "We have a lot to discuss."

"What do you want to talk about, Daddy," Hermione asked, looking at her middle-aged father.

"This," The man said, showing Hermione the headlines. "Your friend Harry's relatives were killed by You-Know-Who last night."

Hermione's soft chocolate eyes opened wide with fright as she snatched the paper out of her father's hand. The headlines made her think, but she smiled slightly.

"It says that he wasn't there, or they don't think he was," Hermione said. "And I'm glad Minister Fudge is gone. He was told that Voldemort was back and denied it."

"Your Minister was told that creature was back and denied it?"

"Yes," Hermione said. "One of the Death Eaters, Lucius Malfoy, supported Fudge's campaign and gave donations to certain causes."

"So he was bribing the Minister and Ministry?"

"It seems so, mum. Unlike Parliament and the Prime Minister, the Magical Government leaders, namely the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and the Minister have more absolute authority. Essentially, the Minister can get away with things as long as the Wizengamot supports him. And the Wizengamot is made up of mostly older families and those tend to be the type of bigots who support Voldemort."

"I see," Rosalind said to her daughter. "And what about this Sirius Black character? Wasn't he the one that the media said was armed and dangerous?"

"Yes," Hermione said. "He escaped from the Wizarding Prison before my third year and everyone thought he was after Harry. It turns out that he was never given a trial and was innocent of any crimes, save for escaping Azkaban. The person who framed him, Peter Pettigrew, betrayed Harry's parents and was the reason they were killed."

"And have you heard from Harry?"

"No," Hermione said. "He hasn't written to me. I suspect he's with his godfather now that he's been freed. I'd be surprised if he wasn't."

A knock at the door surprised them all. Hermione's father gave her a look, and Hermione nodded. She had her wand with her. Just in case. Mr. Granger then opened the door and said a few words with the man at the door.

"Hermione, Mr. Black is here to see you."

Hermione walked up and saw Sirius standing with a pink-haired woman.

"Who are you," Hermione demanded of the pink-haired woman.

"This is my cousin, Nymphadora Tonks," Sirius said. "And if you'll let me in, I'll show you that it's me."

Hermione nodded and kept her wand trained on the two obviously magical people. The door was shut and Sirius changed into his animagus form before changing back. Hermione lowered her wand at that, as an animagus couldn't be copied under polyjuice potion.

"Have you heard from Harry," Hermione asked.

"I was going to ask you the same thing. Harry's missing."

"Missing? What did he do?"

"He didn't go home with the Dursleys. Neighbors said that he never was in the car with them. Only three people."

"Weren't they protected?"

"Yes, they were. But the protections ended when Harry decided he wasn't staying with the Dursleys."

After a few minutes, Sirius and Tonks left, but after explaining that Dumbledore would be placing up protective wards over the Grangers to allow them time to use an emergency portkey to get to a safe place.

* * *

The Order of the Phoenix held an emergency meeting that night. All of the members were present, including the Weasleys. And the Weasleys had decided to come and live at Headquarters for safety reasons until the Burrow could be protected. It was too dangerous for them to be without protections since everyone knew Harry Potter had spent some time at the Burrow, and, with his relatives dead, the Burrow was the obvious choice of residence for Harry.

Ron Weasley had heard his best friend was missing since the night before. He didn't know what Harry was doing, but he had decided to wait and see if Harry would send a letter to them. He knew Harry would send a letter if he could safely do so, and he seriously wanted his best friend to do so. But Ron was upset that he wasn't allowed in the meeting to discuss the news on the war and the latest news on the search for Harry.

To bide his time until the meeting was over, Ron, his younger sister Ginny, and his older twin brothers Fred and George spent their time discussing where Harry might be and what could have caused him to leave.

In the kitchen, where the Order of the Phoenix met, Albus Dumbledore spoke.

"I call this meeting to order," Dumbledore said. "Alastor, do you have any new information for us?"

"Yes," the retired Master Auror, Alastor Moody, said. "I do know that the man who killed several Death Eaters and allowed Aurors to captured them is called Mr. Smith. Some of the merchants in the Alley think he's James Smith, and others think he's Richard Smith."

"What kind of magic did he use," Arthur Weasley asked.

"He used some sort of battle magic that I'm not familiar with," Alastor said. "The magic did have the signs of being similar to combat magic, and he was reported to have used a wide area stunning spell."

"That takes a lot of power," Minerva McGonagall said, in her Scottish burr.

"Aye," Moody said to his friend. "So I expect that this new player in town is a very serious player, and we probably can expect his help defeating the Death Eaters."

"We should find out what we can about him," Dumbledore said. "And if we think it is a good idea later, we will invite him into the Order. Severus, what do you have?"

Resident spy and potions master Severus Snape sneered slightly at the others in the room, especially the mutt and the werewolf before speaking.

"The Dark Lord was quite angry," Snape reported, in his silky tone. "He was angry that the Potter brat wasn't at the house, and he was angry that we can't find Potter. He tortured several of his people for not knowing the Potter boy wasn't with the Dursleys, and then he sent us out to find him. The Dark Lord sent people out to find this Mr. Smith and kill him. We haven't located him yet."

"What of the latest plans?"

"Right now, the Dark Lord is going to concentrate on recruiting. He doesn't want to send out his people on raids unless he knows they will win. With people like Smith around, he is afraid that he will lose more inner circle, like he did Bellatrix, her husband, and brother in law. And, of course, Lucius."

"Severus," Kingsley Shacklebolt asked. "What do you know of the state of his finances? Who are his magic financial supporters? What can we do to stop them?"

"I do not know the details of this, Shacklebolt. I am a potions master and I am not trusted with details of the finances. I do know that the Dark Lord has sent me to purchase basilisk parts."

"Isn't that rare?"

"It is, but there is a source of basilisk parts on the market today. It was a large, thousand year old basilisk and it has been sold by some traveling merchant all over the world."

Dumbledore paused to consider this information.

"I know where one can find such a basilisk, Severus. The Chamber of Secrets still has the basilisk that Harry killed in his second year. We can go down there to get the basilisk parts and keep the money."

Severus smiled.

"Very well, Albus. Then you will have sold me the basilisk parts for my personal experiments."

"What does he want with basilisk parts? There are few potions that are good with those particular ingredients," Moody said.

"I do not know for sure," Snape said. "But the Dark Lord did get an O on his Potions NEWT. He said so himself. I think he will make the potions, whatever the reason, for himself. I personally can think of a few dark rituals and potions that will help the Dark Lord gain strength or gain a stronger poison. He is researching into methods of getting stronger."

"When will it be done?"

"The easiest of these potions will take a year at the least to make once we have all of the ingredients. I am to start on certain poisons and healing potions for the Dark Lord as soon as he has all of the basilisk parts we need. The only one we're lacking is venom. I do not know where any basilisk venom is."

Dumbledore shook his head.

"We'll go tonight to examine the basilisk in the Chamber, Severus. There may be venom there."

"You're going to give it to him," Moody asked, incredulously.

"No," Albus said. "We're going to save it for our own uses. I can't allow him to find basilisk venom. I need all of you to purchase as much of the basilisk parts as you can through your sources. There are a few healing potions that use basilisk parts, and there is one in particular that will allow us to gain allies."

"The Mind Restoring Potion," Severus said. "Of course, the Longbottoms."

Albus nodded and there was the sound of flapping wings. A snowy owl flew into the room and made a landing on the table. She held out her leg toward Sirius with a hoot.

"That brat has finally written," Snape spat. "Well, Black, where is he?"

Sirius took the letter and read it. He turned to Dumbledore and spoke.

"I think we need to talk, Albus."

"Can I enquire as for the reasons of this?"

"Let me read you the entire letter. There is nothing here that can harm him if it gets to the wrong party."

Moody nodded and then Sirius read the letter out loud.

"Dear Sirius, and I guess Dumbledore too.

"By now, you know I am missing from Privet Drive. I bribed my uncle to let me out at Gringotts so I could get some money and get away from things. There are several reasons that I have done this. One, I have heard the prophecy about me and Voldemort. Two, Dumbledore wouldn't hear of me training right now. Three, Fudge was an idiot, but that problem is taken care of now. And Four, I want to travel and have time to enjoy myself as I train to face Voldemort.

"I know you will be worried about me, but don't. I will do my best to continue writing you letters, but Hedwig will stay with you because she is too visible. Let her go to Hermione and fly back and forth for Hermione. If you have any letters for me, send them to Gringotts, care of Griphook, and he will forward them to me. The goblins do know where I am, as I have made contact with them as a safety precaution.

"Oh, Dumbledore, I did take what was mine from Hogwarts. The basilisk from the Chamber of Secrets is now making my bank account bigger. It was mine by right of conquest, so I took what is mine before you or the greasy haired bastard could steal it from me for your own personal use."

Sirius and Remus sniggered.

"THAT ARROGANT FOOL!" Snape yelled. "He doesn't know what he's done."

Dumbledore looked kind of upset, but he motioned for Sirius to continue.

"If Snape is there, he's claiming I'm arrogant. I'm not arrogant. Until I can sell everything, I have made arrangements to have that basilisk secured under the Fidelius Charm with a secret keeper I shall not name.

"To the rest of you, namely the Weasleys and Hermione, I don't want you to get angry at me. I did what I did for a reason, and it is for the Greater Good.

"Just so you know, I will be returning to Hogwarts in the fall. I just need time to myself and time to train. And Dumbledore, I know you will read this letter, so I tell you that we need to have a serious discussion about you hiding things from me. There is a lot you should have done, including training me and informed me of the existence of a Family Vault, as well as your guardianship over me, which I guess is now a moot point since Sirius is out of Azkaban and he is the one my parents wished to become my guardian. But this does make me wonder if you are manipulating me with your games? No matter. We will deal with that later.

"Enjoy your summer, sincerely, Harry."

The members of the Order of the Phoenix sat down to contemplate this and their next actions. One Severus Snape was cursing because he had lost the chance of getting tens of thousands of galleons worth of basilisk parts for his personal lab for free.

* * *

Meanwhile, in France, Harry sat down on the bed watching Daphne brush her hair. It reached nearly down to the middle of her back, and he was kicking himself many times. He wondered why he had skipped over such an interesting person.

"Daphne?"

"What do you want, Potter? I'm busy," the girl replied, not missing a stroke.

"How could I miss someone like you?"

"Miss me? You've never known me!" Daphne exclaimed, giving him a glare.

"I mean," Harry said, his face turning a slight shade of red. "Is how could I miss seeing and speaking to you at Hogwarts?"

"Two words, Potter," Daphne hissed. "House rivalry."

Harry nodded dumbly as Daphne gave an exasperated sigh. Potter was such a Gryffindor.

"Why do we do that? Why does it exist? How many great couples or great friends have we missed because of that?"

"You know what, Potter? I don't care one bit. All I care about at this point is surviving so I can _**castrate**_ all of the Death Eaters for raping my mother and sister before murdering them!"

Harry winced at the way she said castrate and had to stop himself from checking to make sure he was whole after her verbal tirade earlier in the day. The teen wisely said nothing to anger his traveling companion.

When it was time to get into the bed, Harry remembered the colorful words Daphne had used to describe what she would do if he even thought about touching her while they were sharing the bed. He stiffly lay on the edge of the bed, not noticing a smirking Daphne relaxing on the other side of the king-sized bed.

As he lay there, he felt Daphne nearby, so he tried to move over. But instead of staying on the bed, he tumbled off onto the carpeted floor to Daphne's sniggers. He stood and glared at her before getting back on the bed with his thankfully hidden maroon face.

* * *

At Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore pondered the events of the evening. The letter from Harry had been nice to receive, but the contents had been disconcerting for the ancient Headmaster. Dumbledore had done everything he could do to protect young Harry, and all of his protection schemes were crashing down around him.

It was obvious that Harry knew of his family vault, and knew about his mother's connection to the Blackwood Family. Albus hadn't had time to explain everything, and he was required, by law, to explain everything to him before his seventeenth birthday, so he was well within his right to keep things secret. After all, Harry couldn't access the Potter Vault if he wanted to. Dumbledore had ensured that recently when he was questioning the goblins to see if Cornelius could access the Potter Vault using the Ministry authority.

And the goblins were crafty, Albus knew, which was why most wizards despised them. Goblins would work any situation to gain more money, and it was obvious they had their hooks in the young Potter heir and held the wool over his eyes about their relationship. He actually worried about what Harry had gotten from the goblins as a goblin friend, as Albus knew the Blackwoods were.

Lily had not claimed the Blackwood vault because she knew that the goblin friend status, while being helpful, almost ensured the goblins were able to legally take the contents of a vault of a goblin friend once the friend died without an heir or broke a goblin law. By not claiming the vault, the Ministry would be able to collect the contents of it, or at least someone Lily designated as her heir in her will.

Now that Albus knew Harry had been working closely with the goblins, he wondered if Harry had claimed the vault and the status of goblin friend. If he did, there was also a time turner, one that Albus had refused, that Harry would think was enticing. This time turner did work as advertised, but what the goblins would not say was that the time turner used the life force of the wizard using it. It was a one-to-one trade off, meaning for every hour one used the time turner to go back in time, the witch or wizard using it would lose one hour of their maximum life expectancy they had from birth.

And if Harry had the goblins recommend a merchant for selling the basilisk, Albus knew that the goblins were making a lot of money. They would need some money from Harry for it, which would probably be in the form of donated basilisk parts, and then the goblins would make money off of whatever their merchant, a Mr. Greenleaf, sold to anyone. And that meant the goblins would recommend this Greenleaf character of dubious origins to Harry for his purchases.

Overall, Albus was really worried about the status of Harry Potter, and if he was overusing the goblin time-turner he suspected he had. After all, the time turner was given to the human, but the goblins would call it back the moment it left the person's hands and became the possession of another. This included if he allowed someone else to borrow it, or if it was stolen from him. And then the goblins would never give it back to the human goblin friend, but would sell it to them for an exorbitantly high price that most could not pay, and, thus, leaving the goblins with the ability to name another goblin friend and give them the portkey in the hopes they would die young without magical heirs.

Even if the goblins did give him training and great rates for being a goblin friend, the goblin nation stood to make much more than Harry could ever make off of his use of the training resources they gave him or sold to him for cheap. Especially if Harry died without a will. Then the Potter Estate in its entirety, including the Potter Accounts held in the Muggle World and in the Swiss Gnomes Bank, would become property of the goblin nation.

It was too late, Albus knew. Once goblin friend status was conferred, it was for life except in the rare instance the goblins would remove the goblin friend. They had only done this historically if the goblin friend had lost a lot of his wealth gambling or in some other way.

Overall, Albus hoped the child was ok and would learn not to trust the goblins.

* * *

Severus Snape was not a happy man. He had told the Dark Lord he could get the basilisk from the Chamber of Secrets with telling Dumbledore, but the Potter brat had stolen it before he could get to it. He had suffered several bouts of the Cruciatus Curse because of that, and the Dark Lord's supporters would have to shell out tens of thousands of galleons to purchase the hundreds of ounces of basilisk parts the Dark Lord ordered. And then there was the issue of finding basilisk venom. It was the rarest of the basilisk parts, as the venom had to be collected within a certain time frame and bottled correctly. Any potions maker worth their salt would keep all of the basilisk venom, as it was the most useful in healing potions, and in poisons.

On top of that, Severus had found out that the Dursleys had been placed under the Imperious Potion by a Death Eater agent who had slipped it to them using a restaurant employee under the Imperious Curse. This worried Severus, as he stood to lose a lot if the Dark Lord did win. After all, he had been playing both sides for years, and when Severus was no longer able to spy on Dumbledore and his Order of the Phoenix, the Dark Lord would kill him since there were other potions masters the Dark Lord could coerce to work for him.

As Severus activated his portkey to get back to Hogwarts after somewhat recovering from the four Cruciatus curses he'd been held under for short periods of time, he cursed the Potter boy for shortening his own lifespan considerably.


	4. Meeting the First Tutor

**AN: Thanks to all of you who have reviewed the story so far. I have received a lot of constructive criticism that I will try to incorporate in the later chapters and then redo the earlier chapters once I can see where the story is going. The Animagus poll is still on my author page, and it will remain up for another chapter or two until I'm ready for him to have an animagus form. And that may not be until after he arrives back at Hogwarts. **

After a fitful night of sleep, Harry awoke and heard the shower running. He looked over and Daphne was out of the bed. He could still smell her, and he absent mindedly wondered if she tasted as good as she smelled. With a shake of his head, he stood and looked around the room after putting on his glasses. The room was clean of spells, he noted through the charmed lenses. Except for the privacy spell he'd cast the night before.

The teen sat down at the desk in the room and pulled out a book on wand magic. This book was an OWL level textbook that would allow him to prepare for his OWL exams and for the extra study he expected.

Daphne exited the shower and soon was out in the room. She stopped to see Harry reading a book, and smiled. She had expected that when he had explained the program for the summer. After all, Daphne herself was going to do that to prepare for the OWLs.

"Harry?"

"Yes Daphne?"

"The shower is free."

"Thanks," Harry said, placing a bookmark in the book. He set the book on the table and stood. It was that moment when he realized something was missing. "Daphne, did you happen to see a necklace?"

"You mean your time turner? Yes I did," She said.

"Where is it?"

"Well, I took it from you to examine, and to use," she said. "But it disappeared as soon as it left your neck."

Harry swore.

"What's wrong, Potter?"

"That was our ticket to training this summer," he said.

Daphne smiled slightly.

"It was a goblin time turner," she said, looking him directly in the eye.

"I know," he said. "I was told explicitly that it was to never leave my hands or it would return and I would have to pay an annual fee to get it back again."

"And how much is the fee?"

"About ten thousand galleons," Harry said.

Daphne frowned.

"I don't think that is a good price to pay," she said. "Not when you'll be paying for a time turner that uses your life force to operate."

Harry looked at her blankly.

"You didn't know," Daphne asked.

Harry shook his head.

"No. That part wasn't explained to me. How do you know?"

"My parents explained it to me to warn me about accepting it as a goblin friend," Daphne said. "And I imagine that your family didn't accept it either for that reason, among others."

"What would other reasons be," Harry asked.

"Well, if you accepted being a goblin friend for the preferential treatment and rates, it allows the goblins to lay claim to your estate if you die without a magical heir and an heir written into your will. If you do have such an heir, then you can distribute your estate how you wish. But if you don't, then the goblins decide how it is distributed. And the last person to have that happen to them was several centuries ago. It was a Weasley, and the goblins claimed all but the Burrow as their property, reducing the Weasleys from being one of the wealthiest families to being one of the poorest. And then they dropped the family as goblin friends because they had no use for them."

Harry's eyes opened wide.

"Is that true?"

"Ask one of the Weasley parents," Daphne suggested. "Tell them that you are a goblin friend and see how they react."

Harry filed that in his mind to do just that.

"I will, just to see what is going on," Harry said.

"How did the Potters get such a position?"

"It wasn't the Potters. It was the family my mother was from. She's not a pureblood by any means, and she's still considered a muggle-born because her last magical ancestors were several centuries ago. The Blackwoods."

"I see," Daphne said. "A family famous for owning part of Gringotts. I can see it now. I imagine that the goblins don't exactly give you the worst end of the deal, but they won't help you find the loopholes to ensure your rights to give away your things to the people of your choosing."

Harry smiled.

"I was told that if I didn't have a magical heir such as a child or a wife, then the entire estate would go to the goblins. They would recognize any will I had as long as it was a person who would be magically accepted."

"At least you know that," Daphne said. "But enough chit chat. Go get a shower. You stink."

Harry frowned at her, but he gathered his clothes and headed for the shower. The teen went to the shower and, as the warm water ran over him, he thought about what Daphne said. It was obvious to him that the goblins were crafty, and he had known that going into the deal.

He had read over the contracts as carefully as possible, and felt that the contracts were more than fair to him. After all, he didn't have a family right now, and, if the prophecy he'd heard from the goblins was true, he would have a hard time ahead of him if he were to eventually get married.

After breakfast in the hotel restaurant, they hailed a cab to get them to St-Germain-des-Prés, one of Paris' vaunted shopping districts Daphne had been to before. As he paid the fare with a few bank notes, Harry saw the driver give him a sympathetic look. Harry knew why when he saw the manic gleam in Daphne's eyes as she clutched her purse.

"Bloody Hell," Harry exclaimed, as Daphne grabbed his arm and led him toward one of the stores filled with people.

* * *

Harry sat down at the bar and rubbed his weary feat. Thankfully, most of their bags were shrunken and in his pocket. Two large bags were sitting next to the stool and he had his eye on them, lest the bags get stolen and cause Daphne to release her anger at him.

"What will it be, sir?"

"I'll have something wet," Harry said.

The bartender turned and poured from a bottle of wine. He handed Harry the glass with a knowing look on his face.

"I get that look a lot," the bartender said. "Many men shopping with their women."

Harry nodded and sipped on the glass of wine. It was a good wine, and he enjoyed it as it went down his throat. He finally smiled for the first time today. He'd escaped the she-devil's shopping frenzy.

As Harry finished his wine, he saw a familiar head of hair and familiar eyes looking at him. Sarah gave him a pointed look and he sighed as he laid down a bank note to pay for the wine. The bartender nodded and took the note, which was more than enough to pay for the wine. Harry held his hand to stop him from giving him change, and the bartender grinned at Harry as the young man walked off.

Harry saw other men giving him a commiserating look as he walked to Daphne.

"Dear husband," Daphne said with her hands on her hips in the pose that chastised men all over the world knew and dreaded. "I did not send you off to get a drink at a bar. I sent you to shop for a few things you need."

Harry wanted to groan, but decided he couldn't. That would be too childish. But his shuffling feet told the others in the area all they needed to know as Daphne continued lambast her 'husband' for him hiding from shopping duties, after she handed him a heavy bag filled with God knows what that women wear underneath their clothes.

Harry wouldn't escape Daphne's shopping frenzy again until it was dinner time, and they had gone to the room to deposit Daphne's purchases. And then, some things were boxed up and set in the room, having been delivered.

After dinner at a nice restaurant, along with a bottle of wine to help his feet and pride heal from the day of shopping, Harry helped Daphne organize her things, though she wouldn't let him look in some boxes for some reason. He didn't care, as it was one less box he had to deal with as he helped her hang things up in her trunk, and placed a few things in her traveling luggage.

"Harry?"

"Yeah Daphne?"

"What are we going to do without the time turner?"

"I don't know for sure," Harry said. "I don't know if we can meet with all of the tutors."

"We'll still have to meet our first tutor."

"I know," Harry said. "And you're willing to help pay for the tutoring?"

"Of course," Daphne said. "The names Ragnok gave us are some of the top names in the world in their fields. How long have you been planning this?"

"They were initially contacted a few days after I went to Gringotts the summer before third year."

"What happened?"

Harry sat down to start to explain how everything started after a quick sweep of the room with his wand and a few spells ensured the room was well protected.

_Harry sighed as he looked around Diagon Alley. He had just woken up after a relatively sleepless night. The alley was busy, and he needed to go and get money for his school supplies and for a few other things he wanted to get._

_Arriving in the lobby of Gringotts, Harry waited patiently until it was his turn to see a teller. _

"_What can I do for you?"_

"_I would like to make a withdrawal."_

"_Key please?"_

_Harry handed the goblin his key. The goblin looked at the key and then Harry. _

"_Mr. Potter, Director Ragnok wishes to speak with you about a matter of mutual importance."_

"_I'll meet with him," Harry said._

"_Please follow Griphook," The goblin said. "He will take you to the Director's Office."_

_Harry nodded at the goblin to acknowledge him as he arrived. _

_The room near the office was ornately decorated, showing quite a bit of wealth. Harry knew that this goblin was a powerful one, as he was one of the high ranking goblins in the Goblin Nation, as Gringotts was the centerpiece of their government and income. _

_The doors opened at Griphook's knock and Harry was ushered into the office._

"_Mr. Potter, I am Ragnok, the Director of Gringotts-London."_

"_Nice to meet you, sir," Harry said, offering his hand. The goblin looked pleased to see Harry offer his hand to him, and shook the offered hand. _

"_Please, have a seat."_

_Harry sat down and looked at the goblin expectantly._

"_Mr. Potter, I have asked to speak with you to ensure that you know of the entirety of your estate. We do not know if you are aware of it."_

"_So my vault isn't the entire estate?"_

"_No, Mr. Potter, it is not. There is another vault that contains valuable items from the Potter Estate. And to give you an accounting of the vault, I must verify your identity."_

_After using goblin magic on a drop of Harry's blood, the goblin looked at the results with a look that Harry recognized from his Uncle: greed. _

"_Ah, Mr. Potter, it seems that your mother is descended from a magical family."_

"_Is she a pureblood?"_

"_No," the goblin said. "Two generations of squibs in a row makes a family muggle according to all relevant laws and currently used methods of determining such things. Your mother is from the Blackwood Family and she is the first magical person in several generations."_

"_Do they have a vault?"_

"_Indeed they do," Ragnok said. "And the only reason it is still around is because the family is a group of goblin friends."_

"_What does that mean?"_

"_A goblin friend is someone who has benefits from the goblin nation. The biggest benefits are the use of a special time turner, better interest rates, lower fees for services, and access to certain Gringotts services."_

"_And the negatives?"_

"_There are few," the goblin allowed. "The biggest is that you must have a magical heir in order to pass on your estate to someone else. Otherwise, we goblins will have the right to distribute the estate as we please unless other arrangements are made ahead of time."_

_Harry nodded. That was why there was greed in Ragnok's eyes. But Harry wondered if it was worth it._

"_If I were interested in gaining emancipation, how would I do that?"_

"_You would need to be a goblin friend, and we could allow you to become emancipated by goblin law on your fourteenth birthday. Your Ministry probably won't recognize it, so we shouldn't submit the forms."_

"_I see," Harry said. "And there is no way I can access the Potter Family Vault?"_

"_If you accepted your Blackwood heritage from your mother, you would be able to transfer items from the Potter Family Vault to the Blackwood Vault. Then you could access the items. However, certain items such as jewelry and some of the heirlooms must remain in the Potter Family Vault as long as there is a Potter alive."_

"_How do I do that?"_

_Ragnok grinned at Harry and there was the greed in his eye again._

"So you recognized Ragnok was greedy? Didn't you think not to accept the time turner?"

"There was something else, Daphne," Harry said. "There's this prophecy about me and Voldemort. My parents had left me a blood-sealed letter explaining it."

"A prophecy? Is it a real one?" she said, after flinching at the name.

"The Department of Mysteries certified it as true. It was the reason my parents were attacked by Voldemort."

"Do you know what it says?"

Harry nodded.

"Yes. It comes down between me and him. That's all I am willing to say about it."

Daphne's eyes widened.

"And what training has Dumbledore given you? What training do you have?"

"Well, Professor Lupin taught me to produce a patronus," Harry said. "That's all the adults helped me with. The goblins helped me train."

"What did they give you? And what did you do while using the time turner?"

"Well, I generally used the time turner to go back several hours each week," Harry said. "I started to study runes, and defense."

"I'm curious. Why did you choose to study runes?"

"Ragnok gave me strong hints that if I studied runes, I could gain employment at Gringotts as a warder. The goblins gave me many books to study, and access to a merchant who has prices lower than most others."

"Most others?"

"I don't know how he does it," Harry admitted. "But the prices are a bit lower. And he can find rare items that you'd have a hard time finding."

"Like what?"

"Well, he's pandering basilisk parts for me, for a fee."

"Basilisk parts? The venom?"

"I saved all of that for myself," Harry said. "And about a tenth of the basilisk. The goblins received the rest to sell through the merchant and a fee."

"Go on," Daphne said. "What about your training and studying?"

"I studied a lot using the time turner since I got it. I didn't show it because I wanted to hide my abilities."

"Smart, and something one wouldn't expect the Gryffindor Golden Boy to do. Go on."

"In the summer after third year, I managed to make my way to Gringotts using a portkey they gave me. There, I gained access to the books stored in the vaults. A goblin archivist was hired to copy the books for me, and he taught me the copying spell so I can copy books. Surprisingly, they gave me copies of wizard magic books the goblins had."

"What kind of books?"

Harry smiled slightly.

"There were books on magic from various periods throughout history. And various areas of the world. I don't think they gave me everything they had, but then again, they're goblins and wouldn't want to do that."

"And the training?"

"I was given assistance in learning runes using the time turner," Harry said. "And right before I met you, I used the time turner for two years to learn from a goblin war mage. I was taught healing, warding, curse-breaking, and various goblin battle magic."

"Goblin battle magic? They must like you to let you study that. What caused it?"

"Voldemort is back," Harry said. "The goblins don't want to join either side because they fear the retributions if they do. But they don't want Voldemort to win because he will force them out of Britain. So they decided to help me train."

"I see," Daphne said. "And what does Dumbledore know of this?"

"Nothing. I didn't tell him anything because he would have taken away the time turner and my wand because it no longer has the Ministry tracking charms. And he would have confiscated my books."

Daphne nodded. It did sound like something she expected from Albus Dumbledore, the so-called leader of the light.

"I do think he does have plans for you, Potter. After all, why would he let you get away with things and then take an interest in your life. My parents told me they were surprised you didn't know more about the magical world and dressed in such clothes."

"I had no choice in the matter," Harry muttered. "My relatives gave me clothes, but Dudley's hand me downs when he out grew them."

"And where did you sleep?"

Harry gulped. He didn't want to tell Daphne this, but the look on her face promised he would be in a world of hurt if he didn't tell her what she wanted to know.

"From the time I got there until my first Hogwarts letter, I was forced to sleep in a cupboard under the stairs."

"And where did your cousin sleep?"

"He slept in his bedroom."

"How many bedrooms were in the house," Daphne asked, in a toneless voice.

"Four. The Master bedroom, Dudley's bedroom, Dudley's toy room, and the guest room."

Daphne crushed Harry with a hug, and he was surprised when she did that.

"I'm sorry you had to deal with that," Daphne said. "I heard they were killed."

"They were," Harry said, with a downcast face.

Daphne let go of Harry and smiled at him.

"At least you will never have to deal with them again."

Harry smiled at her.

* * *

A day later, Harry and Daphne were in Nice, France, waiting to meet with their tutor. They were in a magical section of Nice, one that catered to magical tourists. Many of the tourists wore shorts and t-shirts, which surprised Harry.

"Daphne, why are there so many people wearing things like Muggles?"

"Harry," Daphne said. "The Magical Society in many other countries isn't as backwards as the UK. They tend to blend in better, and my parents ensured that Astoria and I were able to blend in so we wouldn't look out of place."

"That's good idea," Harry said.

Both looked up when a woman cleared her throat. The woman had blonde hair and blue eyes, and Harry recognized her for a veela when he felt her pull.

"Mr. and Mrs. Smith?"

"Yes," Harry said.

"I'm Adrianna Richards," she said.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Richards," Harry said, holding out his hand.

"And you too, Mr. Smith," The woman said, shaking his hand. "Please, pay for your tea and follow me."

After leaving a few francs on the table, Harry stood with Daphne and followed the woman. They went into the street.

"We'll talk once we get somewhere safe to do so," she said, with a look around. "This portkey will take us to my place."

The two teens accepted the portkey, and they felt it activate immediately. Upon landing, Harry noted they were in an abandoned shack. He reached for his wand, but the woman stopped him.

"This is just an intermediate location many people use to travel," the woman said. "It helps hide our destination from certain parties, and it is a portkey and apparating point for the Muggle area of Nice."

She held out another portkey and they landed in front of a condo.

"We are now on an island the Veela have used for centuries as the center of our culture," she said. "First, do you have any time turners with you?"

"No. I had a goblin time turner, but it disappeared when Daphne wanted to take a look at it."

"Good. You don't need that foul thing."

"Foul thing?"

"It uses your life force to take you back in time and into another dimension," the woman said. "But I think you would accept it since that monster is back."

Harry nodded.

"I do wonder, though. About how long have you used it?"

"A total of about three years," Harry said. "I never used it much, only to go back a few hours every week. That's all I ever needed or wanted."

"Good. Three years off of your life is not bad for the defeat of that monster," Adrianna said. "Now, I must ask that you sign this contract of non-disclosure."

"May we read it first," Daphne asked.

"You may. But before you can stay here, you must sign this non-disclosure agreement. While you read it, I will go and copy your training timeline."

It took them an hour to read and discuss what the contract meant, as they wanted to make sure they were not getting into trouble after what Harry had gone through with the goblins not disclosing everything.

Adrianna returned with two thick manila envelopes. She looked at the two.

"Well?"

"We will sign, but I want some questions asked first," Daphne said. "What kind of training will we receive? It doesn't list any details."

"The contract is only for the non-disclosure of what you see and hear while in the island. You can teach others what you learned as long as your tutors don't ask you to keep certain things to yourself."

"Like I did learning goblin battle magic?"

"Yes," Adrianna said, nodding to Harry. "Now, please sign the contract."

The two signed it, and Adrianna witnessed it. The contract flashed and they were left with copies.

"These are your copies so you will know what you agreed to," the woman said. "Your magic will assist you in keeping the secrets," she said. "The secrets do not include your training except for what you are asked to keep to yourself.

"I can now tell you that you will be learning a few things that others will not. This is only because we know that Harry has to defeat the Dark Lord if we want to survive as a race. In the last war, he destroyed one of our villages in France because we refused to join him. We don't want to fight in the war because of the repercussions of doing so, but we don't want him to survive."

"So you're doing this not because I want to hire you, but because you want to help me defeat Voldemort?"

"Exactly," Adrianna said. "Oh, you can remove the runic bracelets. It will let you relax in your natural forms. No one here will reveal anything, as we are all under similar non-disclosure contracts unless specifically told we can mention something."

The couple removed the bracelets, and Daphne sighed in relief.

"I hate having to cover up who I am," she said. "I was taught to take pride in who I am."

"And you should," Adrianna said. "But now, these are your training timelines. You will train all summer, and I can promise that the two of you will know enough magic to survive. You won't be leaving the island until the day before you have to be back at Gringotts to speak with Ragnok about his other training offer."

"Other offer?"

"Yes," Harry said. "He offered me the chance to go back in time to train and work as a curse-breaker and a warder."

"And you should take it," Adrianna said. "The method they use for traveling that far back in time won't harm your health as much. But your body will age several years during that time frame and you will learn a lot."

"And we'll still go to Hogwarts?"

"Your legal age will not change," Adrianna said. "That depends on the length of time from your birth date. Most magical governments have a law in place to deal with those who use a time turner. A person's legal age doesn't change even if their physical, mental, and magical age does change."

Adrianna sat down and handed them the packets.

"This will explain everything in detail. The two of you will share this condo for your time here. It has two bedrooms. There is only one bath, but I'm sure you can make arrangements to share it. The kitchen will be kept full of food."

"How much do we owe you for this?"

"It is the treat of the Veela Nation," Adrianna said. "But I can think of a few things this hunk can give me," She said, looking over Harry appreciatively.

Daphne shook her head at the look on Harry's face.

"If we're to use sex magic to prepare your mind and body, you'll have to get used to it," Adrianna said.

"Will I have to…"

"No, Daphne," the veela said. "Only Harry will have to have sex with one of us. You will too, but you won't lose your virginity unless you elect to take part in a ritual later on near the end of the summer."

"What is that ritual?"

"You'll learn more in time to prepare for it," Adrianna said. "The ritual does allow you to reach your adult power and unlock your abilities."

"How does that work?"

"What do you know about how a witch or wizard grows, Harry," Daphne asked.

"All I know is they reach their adult power sometime in their seventeenth or eighteenth year of life."

"Correct," Adrianna said. "The potion you took allows your mind to age, but doesn't allow your magic or body to age while time traveling. The ritual I am proposing will allow you to reach adult power later. But we lack one ingredient to make it able to return your bodies to where they should be."

"What ingredient is that?"

"We need basilisk venom."

Harry smiled.

"How much?"

"About two ounces," Adrianna said.

"I have some with me," Harry said. "I think I can part with a couple ounces of it."

Adrianna smiled at Harry.

"I imagine that if you give another vial to our potions mistresses, they'll sleep with you."

Harry grinned at the idea. Daphne's hand on the back of his head canceled that thought.

"Potter, I don't want you to use this place as a house of ill repute. If you're going to shag those women, then you're going to be at their place."

"Yes ma'am," Harry said.

Daphne rolled her eyes and then smiled at Adrianna.

"So, when do we get started?" the witch asked.

Adrianna smiled. "I never thought you'd ask."


	5. The Training Begins

Harry swore as he landed on his back again. He looked up to see his grinning tutor, a woman standing about 6 feet tall, about an inch taller than Harry.

"You should learn not to overextend yourself," the hand-to-hand combat instructor said. "Your momentum can be used against you as well."

Harry muttered something about overbearing women, and the tutor grinned as she looked over to see Daphne sparring with another instructor. This was more of an even fight.

This was their second full day of training, and, like the first, it was mentally and physically taxing. Surprisingly, they were not doing much magic right now. Harry remembered the explanation that his tutor, Annabelle, told them.

"_Harry, Daphne," Annabelle said. "It's simple, really. Dueling is as much physical as it is magical. I know the two of you are better than average magically. But physically, you both need a lot of work. The more you work on physical combat, the better you will be in magical dueling."_

"_I can understand part of the reason," Harry said. "How does this help us with magic?"_

_Annabelle smiled and spoke._

"_Well, if you would have read the reading assignment for today you would know," she said. "But no matter. I will explain. _

"_The more physically fit a person is, the better their magic use. It's an interesting phenomenon, and most pureblood-run societies such as the United Kingdom, and even France, tend to emphasize magic use over physical activity. In the past, a magical warrior was as adept as a non-magical warrior in both armed and unarmed combat. Many knights, such as those of King Arthur's Round Table, were magical as well. They preferred to not use magic, but they did use magic when it was necessary or if magic was the best weapon._

"_One of the Founders of Hogwarts, Godric Gryffindor was known for his physical dueling much more than his magical dueling. Don't get me wrong. He was gifted in both forms of combat. But he was better known for his physical dueling just because he fought with the non-magical armies of the then Leader of Scotland. That is why his sword is always pictured with him in the portraits that have been found of him."_

"_So you're saying that we should learn to fight physically, not just magically," Daphne said._

"_Precisely. If you are physically fit, then your magic is much easier to use in combat. It is known that your magic will try to heal you, and if you are not physically fit, part of your magic is tied up in trying to get your body into the ideal conditions. If you are physically fit, you will have more of your magic reserves available for use, which will increase your abilities using magic, and will also assist you in learning spells. _

"_Part of learning spells is letting your magic learn how to use a spell. The other part is training your brain and body to release magic when you want to use a spell."_

_Annabelle went on to explain the relationship between physical fitness and magic, using several examples of why physical fitness was so important to a mage._

Harry brushed himself off and stood up, facing his instructor. She got in the fighting stance, and Harry did the same. And then they were at it again. And, like last time, Harry ended up flat on his back after a few moments of struggling with the 32 year old martial arts instructor.

* * *

After their morning physical training and martial arts training, Harry and Daphne were allowed to shower and then report to their condo for a class in magical theory and a class in ritual theory. Adrianna was going to teach both of these, as she was well studied in the area of magical and ritual theory for her specialty.

They sat down in the study, which was transformed from a normal study to have a table facing a black board that Adrianna could use to write down key points and notes. The table had their notebooks, ink pens, and color pencils ready to use for taking personal notes. There was also a self-inking dictation quill set up to record the lecture for their notes and for Adrianna's records.

Both Harry and Daphne were now dressed in shorts and tank tops, as it was a much warmer environment than England, and the dress code on the island was generally casual. And it was not uncommon to see the residents/visitors on the island wearing beach clothing everywhere.

"How was your training session," Adrianna asked, as she walked into the room.

"It was tiring," Harry said.

"Harry's just tired of having a herd of hippogriffs stomping on his pride every time Annabelle tossed him over her shoulder," Daphne said, with a cheeky grin.

Adrianna gave off a watery laugh that made Harry smile. He loved her laugh even when he was the subject of that laughter.

"Yes, well, it should be a learning experience for both of you. Not only can women out do men in magical combat, but some can do it in non-magical combat," she said. "Daphne, are you learning a lot?"

"Oh yes," Daphne said. "If the ferret tries anything against me at school, I'll give him a knee to the bludgers."

Harry grimaced.

"Good," Adrianna said. "Harry, what are you learning?"

"I'm learning that I am not as physically fit as I thought I was, and that size doesn't matter as much as I thought it did for physical combat."

"Yes," Adrianna said. "And now, you will learn magical theory."

"What will we learn?" Daphne asked.

"I want to ensure that the both of you know how magic is used," the full Veela said. "I don't think Hogwarts covers this in enough detail for you to make use of magical theory. Magical theory is very important if you want to create spells, or even break curses. Those who lack an education in magical theory often aren't able to learn how to craft spells, enchant items, or break curses. This will be one of your most important classes here on the island, as it will include the study of what you call ancient runes and Arithmancy as well.

"Later, we will have practical sessions of runes and Arithmancy to allow you to learn how to craft basic spells and wards, and make simple permanent enchantments."

Harry sighed. This wasn't what he had expected, but he could see the benefits of knowing how to craft spells and wards in the future.

* * *

While Harry and Daphne were learning about magical theory, Voldemort was pondering his next move.

"Rookwood!"

"Yes My lord," Augustus Rookwood asked, with a bow to his master.

"What is the latest on Potter?"

"We do not know where he is, My Lord," the man said, with a simpering smile. "Our spy in the Order of the Phoenix reports that the old fool has no idea either."

"Rookwood?"

"Yes My Lord?"

"You have failed me again. CRUCIO!"

Rookwood cried out in pain as the dark curse hit him. When it was over moments later, he shakily stood and bowed to his master, awaiting further word.

"I need you to find out where Potter is, Rookwood. I don't care what your whore of a spy tells you unless it is where Potter is. Your priority is to find Potter."

"Yes My Lord. I shall not fail you."

"See to it that you don't, or I will be short one more Death Eater."

Rookwood bowed to the Dark Lord and scampered out of the room after the evil creature waved his hand to dismiss his minion.

"WORMTAIL!"

A rat-like man scampered into the room.

"Yes Master?" the portly man squeaked, with a bow.

"I need to you to see what Severus is up to. He is supposed to be in Croatia looking for more basilisk parts for my rituals."

"Yes My Lord," Wormtail said, and turned to leave.

"I did not dismiss you! CRUCIO!"

The rat started convulsing on the floor while the spell was held on him. When it was lifted, he ran out of the room as fast as his legs could take him, a large stain on the front of his pants.

The Dark Lord scowled at the new stain on his floor, and a flick of his yew wand cleaned the stain. The Dark Lord pondered how he would punish Wormtail for losing control of his bladder in his throne room.

"Maybe I'll have him serve as target practice for the new recruits using torture spells," The Dark Lord said to himself, chuckling.

* * *

"Severus, what do you have for your report," Albus asked his spy.

"The Dark Lord has ordered me to Croatia to find basilisk venom for his ritual," Snape said. "I have come back to give him a report, and he is not happy that I am not able to find basilisk venom. It is the key ingredient he needs for his rituals."

"Do you have any idea what these rituals are?"

"Only the Dark Lord knows," Snape said to Moody.

"Are the Death Eaters making any plans for attacks?"

"I'm not aware of any," Snape said. "The Dark Lord has compartmentalized information, and I am not aware of any plans. I am sure there are plans in the works, but only those who are leading the attacks are being allowed to know plans before the day of the attack. The Dark Lord is becoming more and more suspicious of having a spy in his ranks since he lost Bellatrix and several of the inner circle."

"Very well," Albus said. "Kingsley?"

"Minister Bones is working at clearing the Ministry of any spies. I have been assigned to one of these investigative details and we have involved the Unspeakables in the investigation due to their ability to infiltrate the Ministry without being detected. I cannot say anything else because I am under oath."

"Nymphadora?"

"I'm on the Minister's personal guard detail. My current duty is to stay with the Minister during the daylight hours as her guard. I'm not in the room where she does her work unless it is a person who is not trusted. Then I may be in the room hidden under an invisibility cloak. But I am under an oath not to reveal what I hear under penalty of death."

Dumbledore nodded. It was becoming harder and harder to get good information about the Death Eaters or about what the Ministry was doing. Both the Dark Lord and Minister Bones were making good use of oaths of silence to protect their operations. And Dumbledore couldn't do what he needed to do for the Greater Good without information.

"Has anyone heard anything about young Harry," Dumbledore asked, after a moment of thought.

"I have heard nothing," Bill Weasley said. "The goblins are not saying anything, and I dare not ask them directly without losing my job."

"We don't need you to lose your job, William," Dumbledore said. "How has Director Ragnok viewed your attempts of gathering allies?"

"I was told to either stop recruiting for a wizard war or lose my job. I've had to stop speaking to people about it."

Dumbledore nodded, though, on the inside, he was seething. How dare the goblins not join him?

"Then we need to be wary of the goblins. They may be turning dark," The Headmaster said, with his grandfatherly façade. "Miss Delacour, what about the Veela?"

The Frenchwoman smiled at the Headmaster. She had been recruited for the Order of the Phoenix a few days ago by Bill Weasley.

"The Veela do not wish to join the wizard war because they fear retribution from the hands of either side. I would surmise the goblins believe the same way, as we don't want to get involved in a Wizard war."

"How do they view your participation in this conflict?"

"I won't be gaining allies or friends in the Veela community with this," Fleur said to the Headmaster. "And I refuse to do anything other than heal people or support them. I'm not a fighter. I'm a healer."

"Very well," Albus said, seething again. He wasn't able to get allies. "What do the werewolves think, Remus?"

"Sir," Remus said. "The werewolves mostly follow Fenrir Greyback, Voldemort's chief werewolf. I'll be killed if I go to some of the packs again."

Dumbledore shook his head. Things weren't going their way at all.

"Sirius, what of Mr. Potter, have you heard from him," McGonagall asked.

"Unfortunately, you have heard the last letter he sent me, Minerva," the Animagus said. "To refresh your minds, Harry said that he and a friend were studying to prepare themselves for the coming war."

"Do you know what they are studying?"

"I have no idea, Minerva," Sirius said. "All I know is he is studying. He does trust his tutors."

The Transfiguration professor nodded. She had long thought Harry should have been trained since Albus had told her of the existence of the prophecy back in Harry's first year when she asked why he was being sent back to the Dursleys again. Her boss was against it, and she didn't know how to change his mind.

"When he gets back, we will need to ensure that he is not going dark," Dumbledore said. "I fear that with the wrong tutors, he will be going dark."

Sirius shook his head and spoke.

"Headmaster, I think you don't trust Harry at all. If you would show him more trust, then he might decide to let you in on what he is doing. He doesn't trust you at all according to the letter I have from him. And I believe you have earned that lack of trust, especially since you employ Severus and don't punish him or the Slytherin students for abusing their authority or abusing other students."

"Now, Sirius, don't go spitting out false accusations…"

"You know it's true, Albus," Remus said. "You need to gain control over Severus, or you will lose a lot more support than you already have."

Before the meeting could get out of hand, Dumbledore gained control over it and moved onto another topic: the search for Harry Potter. How dare they question him, the Leader of the Light? He knew what was best for everyone.

The others shared a look that meant interesting discussions would be held in other places after Dumbledore had gone. No one noticed the slight smile on the faces of one of the members sitting around the table.

* * *

Daphne sighed as she heard the shower still running. Since they had gotten to the island two weeks ago, Harry had spent an ungodly amount of time in the shower and locked in his bedroom during their free times. Right now, Daphne was hoping he would exit soon, or she'd burst into the room and use the toilet. She had to go really bad, and Harry had been in the shower for the past half-hour.

When the water stopped, she sighed slightly in relief. The door opened moments later, and Daphne rushed past Harry and dropped her shorts, not caring that the door was still open and a blushing Harry had seen her flash a bit of white flesh at him as she relieved herself.

After a moment, however, Daphne recognized he was still in the room, she yelled "GET OUT!" and quickly hit him with a hex and he ran from the bathroom like something bad was after him. The teen sighed in relief as a flick of her wand shut and locked the door.

Once she was done with her business, Daphne wiped herself off and then flushed the toilet. She removed her clothes and then turned on the faucet to fill the nice hot tub. She would spend the next hour in the hot tub relaxing, and wondering why she wasn't too angry at Harry for seeing her drop her shorts.

While Daphne was in the bath, Harry was still as red as a tomato. He was embarrassed that he had been staring at Daphne and because he had been caught staring at her. The hex had been no problem for him to counter, once he stopped running from the she-devil.

For Harry, Daphne was a she-devil, especially since she was getting to the point where she could back up her threats with magic. They had started to use magic again a couple days ago, and Daphne was an artist with a number of darker hexes and curses and Harry had no idea what many of them were.

"Harry?"

The teen looked up to see Annabelle in the room.

"Can I help you, Annabelle?"

"I heard from Daphne how you're spending a lot of time in the shower."

Harry blushed and nodded. There was no reason to lie, and Annabelle had proven to him that she could sense a lie.

"Is there a reason?"

Harry nodded again.

"It's because I see all of you dressed in bicycle shorts and sports bras all the time while training," Harry confessed.

Annabelle laughed.

"I'd be shocked and hurt if you weren't doing that," She said. "You don't try to get in our pants like a normal man would. Why is that?"

Harry knew he had to be careful here.

"I would like to, but I know our working relationship would suffer if I started doing that. In the interests of being able to work with you and study, I chose not to pursue any other relationship." _Not to mention what Daphne would do to me when I fall asleep._

"Even with those who aren't teaching you? There are plenty of young veela here who would love to get you in their bed, Harry. You should take them up on the offers."

"Why do you say that?"

"Adrianna is about to start the sex magic with you and Daphne," Annabelle said. "You will be joined by several younger Veela and you will be the only man in these classes. Adrianna will convince you to help her show them some of the rituals."

Harry blanched.

"I know you wouldn't want it, Harry," Annabelle said. "But you should take advantage of it. Any other male your age would be trying to shag any of us. Sometimes, I think you're too noble for your own good."

Harry nodded and looked Annabelle in the eye. It was that moment he noted she was dressed in a bikini top and a matching bottom. He hadn't realized that because he could barely look her in the eye after this morning's incident. Harry had accidentally gotten a handful of her breast while they were sparring, and he been so embarrassed and shocked by it that he had chosen to end the sparring lesson a bit early to give him time to get over the shock.

And then there was the incident where one of his spells had vanished Adrianna's top, leaving her topless. Daphne had accused him of doing it on purpose, and Harry had run off, entering the shower as soon as the lesson had ended.

"Hi Harry, Annabelle," Adrianna said, dressed in a bathing suit as well. "Harry, are you ready for our swim?"

"What swim?"

"We were going to go swimming after you had time to relax from our lessons this morning," She said.

Harry blushed. He'd forgotten about that. They were going to go swimming in the ocean with gillyweed to get more exercise and to enjoy the beach while Daphne lay out in the sun with a few of her new friends.

Harry felt himself react at seeing Daphne in a skimpy bathing suit again. For some reason, she made him react more than seeing naked Veela walking around the beach, not that he complained about the naked Veela or Daphne in a bathing suit.

"I remember now," Harry said. "I didn't think you'd still want to go after this morning."

Adrianna laughed.

"Of course I will, Harry," she said. "I don't mind showing you all I have. After all, you're going to see it and touch it during our rituals."

"You're doing that ritual," Annabelle asked. "Can I do it with him too?"

"Yes," Adrianna said.

"What ritual?"

"It's a ritual that will increase your learning capacity," Adrianna said. "We always do it twice for each person to ensure it worked the first time and make sure the change is permanent and not just temporary. It works better if you've had sexual relations with two separate women casting the spell on you. Annabelle is good at the rituals, but she isn't a ritual teacher or expert."

Harry blushed again, as he'd had dreams of having sex with his instructors, and several ways that could have gotten started, especially with the physical training and then again working with vanishing spells against flying physical objects.

Sharing a glance, the two Veela shed their tops and bikini bottoms at the same time, making Harry, who was wearing only his boxer shorts, blush as a part of him escaped through the flap of his boxers.

When Daphne left the shower, she heard the sounds of two women moaning.

"About damn time he shags them," Daphne muttered to herself. "Maybe he won't spend as much time in the shower if he shags them every now and then."

A curious Daphne used an invisibility spell on herself to see what was going on in Harry's room. The door was wide open, and her eyes opened wide as Harry was on his back, with Adrianna riding him, and Annabelle had lowered herself so Harry's tongue could reach her soft spot. Daphne sighed as she saw that and her hand reached into her bikini bottom at the erotic sight.

Daphne, lost in her own bliss, wasn't aware that the three had finished and were watching her. When her eyes opened after she got over the orgasm, she was surprised to see Harry with another erection. She gasped and turned red.

"You can join us, you know," Adrianna said.

Daphne fled from the room as soon as she could, not knowing how to say that she wanted to. Her upbringing as a lady had made her want to hide from anyone who would do such things.

* * *

As the four walked to the beach, Harry spoke.

"Are we going to learn how to become an animagus?"

"We'll start your theory training soon," Adrianna promised. "But you won't be ready to find out your form until the summer is nearly over."

"Why is that? We're learning theory at a fast rate? And then you will use the memory enhancement ritual for us," Harry asked.

Annabelle answered.

"You will need a lot of time to learn this. It takes a minimum of six months before most are ready to even learn of their forms. We don't want to speed through this, as it will be very dangerous to do so."

"I guess," Harry said, disappointed.

"You'll find out your form in a few months, Harry," Daphne said from her position behind the three.

"Are you going to try too, Daphne?"

"I'll try, but there are no guarantees I'll have a form."

"Everyone has a form," Adrianna said. "It's just that very few have the willpower, patience, and sheer magical ability to get their animagus form. It's a long-term thing, much like studying and training for the Aurors or for any other Mastery Certification."

Harry nodded in acceptance. It wasn't what he wanted to hear.

"Perk up, Harry," Daphne said. "At least you know we're powerful enough. And we'll be progressed enough in our knowledge to start the process by the end of the summer. Most wizards can't say that."

"True," Harry said.

"Now, we're going to go out for a couple hours," Adrianna said, looking at Daphne. "Are you sure you don't want to join us?"

"I want to work on my tan," Daphne said. "I'll join you later."

"Have it your way," Adrianna said, as she dropped her top on the beach. Annabelle did the same, and Harry removed his shirt and shorts, revealing the emerald green man's bikini that Adrianna had gotten for him and made him wear.

Daphne looked Harry over appreciatively. He looked good, and she knew that he would have to swat the girls off of him like flies when he got back to Hogwarts. With that, Daphne sighed, knowing Harry would never look at her, a Slytherin, in that way.

After an afternoon of frolicking in the surf with two beautiful Veela, and shagging them under the waves with gillyweed, Harry went to relax in the condo. Daphne was eating dinner when he got to the table with his plate.

"Did you enjoy your shag," Daphne asked, not looking him in the eye.

"It was great," Harry said, not noticing how Daphne looked sad. "But I did like to see your face when you cried out."

Daphne blushed and didn't look Harry in the eye, as he had turned to look at her.

"Why me? I'm flat-chested compared to those Veela."

Harry smiled slightly.

"The size of a girl's chest isn't the only thing important about them," Harry said. "While I do like large breasts, I can say for sure that you have nothing to be ashamed of. You're a size B if I remember correctly."

Daphne gave a quick nod of her head and then stared at her plate as she ate the rest of her baked chicken.

The rest of their dinner passed in silence, and both got up to start washing their dishes. These were done with a few flicks of their wands, and they went to their own rooms to study.

Harry was studying the spells they would go over the next day. He studied until about 2200 hours, and then went to bed, knowing he had a long day ahead of him.

Daphne was going to write in her diary and then study the book on veela sex magic that Adrianna had let her borrow. At bedtime, a blushing Daphne closed the very descriptive book and lay down in the soft bed. Her dreams that night would be of her trying out some of those things on Harry.

* * *

"Fleur?" the blonde-haired woman asked.

"Yes mama," the young healer trainee asked.

"We have an invitation to a special ritual ceremony later in the summer," Madam Apolline Delacour said.

"Where is it, Mama?"

"It's going to be held at the Main Island. All members of the European Veela Enclaves were invited, as there is a rare ritual going to take place there."

"What kind of ritual?"

"The body and magic purification ritual," Madam Delacour said to her eldest daughter. "I don't know any more than that, but our non-disclosure agreement is going to be enforced for the ritual to protect the participants."

"I'll clear my schedule to go," Fleur said. "I am starting my training there in August anyway."

The woman nodded with a proud smile. She was proud of her oldest daughter, who had been accepted into the Veela Healer training program, which was one of the toughest in the world. Fleur would spend several months each year at the Veela Island learning from the best healers the Veela Nation had to offer, and then she would spend the rest of her time assisting Madam Pomfrey in the Hogwarts Hospital Wing and at St. Mungos Hospital for Magical Ailments and Injuries. This training would continue for the next five years until Fleur was certified as a healer.

* * *

Daphne knew that accepting Potter's offer of training was the best choice she'd made after her family had been murdered. Studying with the Veela made Daphne more confident in her abilities to defend herself if attacked, and it would help her with her goal of punishing the Death Eaters who had raped and murdered her sister, mother, and father. She hated each one of them, and had a goal of getting rid of them no matter what it took to do so.

Working with a handsome Harry Potter was a major benefit for Daphne. Seeing him wear red bicycle shorts while training made her have many enjoyable dreams.

The one thing she did not like about this was listening to Harry shagging the Veela. She didn't get angry at him for doing it. Instead, she was surprised it took him this long to do this. She knew any other male would have been shagging the veela long ago as soon as they offered, but the Gryffindor Golden boy had not. Daphne was glad to see him finally starting to learn how to get over his noble tendencies and start taking advantage of a situation like a true Slytherin. If he kept changing to be more Slytherin-like, Daphne would have someone she would be proud to associate with at Hogwarts. When it was safe for her to do so.


	6. A New Friend

**AN: Many thanks to those of you who are reading this story and reviewing. The Poll for the Harry's Animagus Form is still up on my profile page. It will be closing after the next chapter is completed and posted. **

* * *

"Severus, how is the search going for basilisk venom," the Dark Lord asked.

"It is not going well, My Lord," Severus said, nervously. "The only basilisk I know of was the one under the Chamber of Secrets that Potter killed. And Potter salvaged it and is selling it for profit. Dumbledore doesn't know where the arrogant brat is keeping it."

"CRUCIO!" The Dark Lord hissed, hitting the spy with the spell. "Severus," he added, letting the spell end. "You are continuing to test my patience. I have no need to attempts. I need you to complete your assignment and find me a minimum of ten ounces of basilisk venom by the end of summer. If you should fail to do so, you will suffer the consequences."

"Yes My Lord," Snape said, shakily, as he bowed to the Dark Lord. "I shall try to get Dumbledore to force Potter to give me what I want of the basilisk."

"You'd better not fail, Severus. Now get out of my sight before I decide to curse you again."

"Yes My Lord," Snape said, before he scrambled out of the room.

"Rookwood?"

"My Lord, my spy reports that the old fool continues to hunt for Potter. And his spies in the Ministry are less useful than our spies."

"Did Dumbledore hire our candidate for the Defense Against the Dark Arts Position?"

"No My Lord. The Old Fool hired one of his Order members, Emmeline Vance, as the new DADA professor since the Aurors couldn't be released for teaching. I'm told he didn't even consider our candidate for the job due to her age and she is in his Order."

Voldemort sighed and his hand twitched as he wanted to go for his wand. This wasn't Rookwood's fault. But then again, maybe it was.

Either way, cursing someone was therapeutic. For the Dark Lord. The man gave an evil smile that would make many Death Eaters shake in their boots and then pointed his wand at the hapless servant.

"CRUCIO!"

* * *

Sirius Black was very concerned about his godson. He hadn't heard anything from Harry in the past two weeks, and it was nearing Harry's birthday, July 31st. The dog animagus was pacing in the kitchen of his house, 12 Grimmauld Place, which was the current Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore's vigilante group trying to face Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

Currently, the Weasleys, Nymphadora Tonks, Remus Lupin, Sirius, and Hermione Granger were staying at the house full time, unless they had to work. The underage children, under the direction of Molly Weasley, were spending their time either doing homework, or cleaning the old house.

As Sirius listened to Molly rant about something her twin teenage sons, Fred and George, did, he saw an owl arriving. The owl glided to a soft landing on the table and looked at the black haired man. With a hoot, the owl held out his leg for Sirius.

Sirius calmly removed the letter, and then ripped it open when he saw it was Harry's handwriting.

_Dear Sirius and everyone else, I hope this letter finds you well. I am continuing my training here with my tutors and I am learning a lot more than I would ever learn at Hogwarts. I won't tell you what I have learned for safety reasons, but you can rest assured on my Marauder's Oath and nickname that I am doing well. _

_I will see you before September 1__st__._

_Sincerely,_

_Harry_

The Animagus tapped the parchment with his wand and spoke "Son of Prongs, I solemnly swear I am up to no good". The writing on the parchment changed from the letter Sirius had just read into something else.

_Padfoot and Moony, if you're reading this part of the letter, you have figured out the clue I gave you. I will detail a bit more, but I won't detail too much in case a certain rat gets his paws on this letter. Please share this with Moony when you are done._

_So far during the summer, I have done some shopping to get decent clothes and supplies. You may know by now that I have managed to find a way to get around the rules restricting me from my Family Vault to get copies of the books located there. I am studying those, and a few more the goblins have given me due to my status as a goblin friend. (Yes, I do know what that means for me and my heirs. I thought it was worth it to defeat that monster.)_

_I have been studying magical theory and training physically since that is so important in dueling. Lately, we have started to work on using more advanced magic, and I hope that we can have a few friendly duels when I return to England. _

_By the end of the summer, I should be nearing NEWT level or beyond in the spell subjects, and even potions, as we have started studying potions and Herbology since both subjects are so important for healing. I hope Snivellus will treat me right, or I shall have to report his actions to the Board of Governors and his status as a Death Eater to the Ministry of Magic, for the Greater Good of the students. _

_And by the time I return, I shall have learned who my inner Marauder is, if you know what I mean, Padfoot. I may not be able to show you what I mean, but then again, you know what it's like. I will send you a note to arrange for a pick up to get to a secure location for the remainder of the summer when my training is completed, and it is time to get to Hogwarts._

_I do ask you for a favor. I would like for you to purchase my school things that I need. I will pay you back for this when I get the chance. _

_Oh, and tell everyone that I said Hi. I will see them at the end of the summer._

_Harry._

Sirius smiled when he read the letter. He should have known his godson would have started to become an animagus.

"Moony," Sirius said, as he rushed to the room where Remus currently sat reading.

"What is it, Padfoot?"

"Harry sent us a letter."

Remus closed his book and took the letter from Sirius. When he finished reading it, he raised an eyebrow.

"So he does have the same lack of appreciation for the rules that you and James had," Remus said, with a smile. "I just hope he has a tutor who knows what they are doing."

"Me too," Sirius said. "Should we show this to Albus?"

"No," Remus said. "Just copy Harry's handwriting for the original part of the letter and give that to him."

Sirius nodded and grinned as his best friend changed the letter back and then copied it for the rest of the Order of the Phoenix. Sirius then went to place his treasure in his hiding place while Remus shared the letter with everyone else in the house.

Ron and Hermione were quite put out that Harry didn't write to them.

"Who does he think he is," Ron demanded angrily. "I'm his best friend, but he doesn't write to me. Instead, he writes to everyone at the same time."

"Ronald," Hermione huffed. "He may not have much time since he is training."

"Hermione, how do we know he isn't learning the Dark Arts? Dumbledore said that he is worried about it."

"Ron, you should know Harry better than that," Hermione huffed. "I don't think he would learn the Dark Arts. If he did, he will only learn the legal spells."

"Even the legal spells are bad, Hermione," Ron said. "It's better that you don't learn any of the Dark Arts. Just like it's bad to be a Slytherin. They're all evil."

Hermione shook her head and left Ron alone. She didn't know how she put up with the prat all this time, even after he had shown his jealousy to Harry time and time again. Hermione didn't even know why Harry put up with the prat.

After asking for permission to get a book out of the library, Hermione happily entered the family section of the library after Sirius gave her permission to enter. She knew that no Weasley or Dumbledore were allowed to enter this part of the library, and she thanked Sirius for giving her a quiet place to read and study for the upcoming OWLs.

Ron, on the other hand, was trying to get someone to play chess against him. After all, he didn't want to study, and he didn't want to clean. All the while, he was put out that the conversation revolved around Harry Bloody Potter and not him.

And then Ron would find out that Harry was the Gryffindor 5th year boy's prefect while Hermione was the girl's prefect. He was angry at that. Harry was even given the assistant Quidditch Captain's badge after Angelina had asked Professor McGonagall to name an assistant captain to help her. Ron deserved both badges, he thought.

He would spend the rest of the summer sulking about Harry getting everything while Ron got Harry's leftovers. And to Ron, this included women after Hermione had told him bluntly that she wouldn't date him if the wizard population on earth depended on it.

Hermione and Ron would continue to argue all summer about homework and everything else, making the others in the house want to curse them into silence. Sirius would finally place them in separate rooms to clean, leaving Ron with the Twins, and Hermione with Ginny and Tonks, when the young Auror was not working, something that rarely happened now that a state of emergency was declared.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore knew that he was going to have a lot of trouble this year. He had wanted to veto Harry's appointment as a prefect, but the four Heads of House, including a surprising Severus Snape, had voted to override Dumbledore's decision to give Ron the prefect's badge. Snape had claimed that the Potter boy was a better choice than the Weasley brat because Weasley was a stupid baboon.

"Minerva, are you sure you won't change your mind? I think young Harry has enough to deal with."

"Albus, once again, I am appalled that you would not give this to a person who deserves it. You wanted Pansy Parkinson to get the prefect position over Daphne Greengrass, who is a much better student for the job. And Mr. Weasley barely has good grades."

"But Mr. Potter…"

"Mr. Potter's grades are acceptable for the job, Albus."

"But to make him assistant Quidditch Captain…"

"Is a smart move. Mr. Potter will be my choice for Gryffindor Quidditch Captain later on when Miss Johnson and Miss Bell are no longer students. Mr. Weasley is obsessed with Quidditch, and I fear that his grades will suffer if he is allowed to have either position. And Mr. Weasley is not currently on the Quidditch Team. Mr. Potter is."

"That can be remedied," Dumbledore said. "I can prohibit Quidditch Captains from being prefects or Heads."

"If you do that, Albus, then you will have my resignation immediately. You cannot play favorites in your position. You have long let Severus have his way and allowed the Slytherins to abuse other students. Severus protects them from retribution and punishes any who defend themselves. If you don't start doing your job, then I will use the other two Heads of House to override your decisions and fire Severus for his gross misconduct.

"He is not a teacher, and he has the lowest passing grades of any professor I have ever seen. His NEWT classes get smaller every year, and you wonder why we don't have any good potions masters in our country. It's because of Severus and your attitude in allowing him leeway. I am tired of it.

"My next step, if you continue to act the way you do, is to report this to the Board of Governors."

Minerva paused to let Albus speak.

"Minerva, you know why I do this."

"I don't trust a Death Eater on staff," Minerva said. "You trust that Severus has truly turned against his Master. Yet, you won't share the reasons you trust him, saying it's between you and Severus. Without proof, you won't have my support to keep him on staff any longer."

"Minerva, I gave Severus my word. And Severus has changed. He has no love for Voldemort."

"Even so, he is a dark man, Albus. The sort of man who should not be teaching. Yes, he is a great potions master, but he cannot teach nor does he treat people well. Remember this conversation."

With that, the Transfiguration professor left a pensive Headmaster in her wake.

* * *

Harry opened his eyes and groaned as the effects from the rituals of the night before hit him. He had taken part in two memory enhancement rituals within a half hour of each other, and his head was pounding from the ritual. Daphne's rituals had taken place at the same time using Annabelle and Adrianna, who swapped people to perform the rituals so each had it done twice.

"How do you feel, Harry," someone asked.

"Fleur, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to start healing," she said, with a smile toward Harry. "I witnessed the ritual last night and I was told to check on you and Daphne. So, how do you feel?"

"I feel like the Hogwarts Express hit me head on," Harry said.

"Well, drink this. It will help," The quarter-Veela said, handing him a phial. "It's only a pain reliever," she added, when he examined it.

Harry drank the potion down in one gulp, and it took a few moments for it to work. When his raging headache went away, he looked at Fleur. She wore light green summer-weight robes with the traditional wizard symbol of a healer trainee: the caduceus with the Staff of Asclepius crossing it. The eighteen year old smiled at her patient.

"So, am I going to get to see you a lot?"

"Yes," Fleur said. "I'll be sitting in on some of your field healing classes starting on the 1st."

"Good," Harry said. "How's Daphne?"

"She's sleeping off the ritual," Fleur said. "I gave her a sleeping potion after she woke up."

"Do I get a sleeping potion?"

"No," Fleur said. "Daphne got a sleeping potion because she needed more time to sleep. You don't need more time to sleep."

"How do you know?"

"Adrianna showed me the spell to see if someone needs more time. What you need to do is get up and meet with your tutors. You're going to start learning occlumency today while Daphne is sleeping. When she awakens, she'll start learning Occlumency as well."

"But I know some form of Occlumency."

"This ritual destroyed any shields you have, Harry," Fleur said. "I thought you remembered that from the instructions on the ritual. And that's probably why Daphne needed more sleep as well. She had shields covering her whole mind while you had partial shields."

Harry nodded.

"And I will return them."

"Partial Shields aren't as good as full mind shields," Fleur said. "They don't always work against a Legilimens, especially skilled Legilimens like Dumbledore, Snape, and the Dark Lord. I would suggest that you get a shower and get dressed. Annabelle said that you will not be excused from your morning workout, though you will not be training in the martial arts today. Daphne is excused because of medical reasons."

Harry swore at the lack of fairness, but he got up, realizing he was only wearing boxer shorts. Fleur did look at him appreciatively, as he had worn boxer briefs instead of the other type of boxers. Harry blushed slightly at her gaze and retreated to the bathroom to put on his training clothes.

He exited the bathroom wearing running shorts and his trainers with ankle-length socks. He gave Fleur a lopsided smile and then left the condo to meet with Annabelle for a rousing exercise routine that would include a quick shag in the surf.

An energized Harry would return for a shower and then his Occlumency lesson with the talented Adrianna.

* * *

Daphne awoke while Harry was in the shower after his exercise session. She groaned and felt a cold hand on her forehead.

"How do you feel?"

"Who are you?"

"I'm healer trainee Fleur Delacour," the woman said. "You probably know who I am."

"Yes I do," Daphne said. "Where is Harry?"

"He just got through with his morning exercise. You were deemed medically unable to exercise this morning."

"I'm glad," Daphne said. "I feel like I've been run over by the Knight Bus."

"And I'm here to help you. How does your head feel?"

"Horrible. My Occlumency shields are down."

"That's not surprising. The ritual you underwent removes the shields," Fleur explained. "Harry will have the first training time since he is feeling better after his romp in the sand."

Daphne smiled.

"He always feels good after he's shagged. But he never wants to shag me."

"Do you think that he's respecting your wishes?"

"I don't know," Daphne admitted. "What do you think? You know him somewhat."

"I think he is taking advantage of what is offered here. If he didn't, I'd think he was a homosexual man. And that would disappoint me since Harry is a fine specimen of a man his age."

"I can agree with that statement," Daphne said. "Would you shag him if given the chance?"

"I might shag him tonight as an early birthday gift," Fleur said, with a smile. "I am a single woman with needs."

"Me too," Daphne replied with a soft voice. "But part of me says that I shouldn't do that."

Both women looked up as someone knocked on the closed door.

"Enter," Daphne said.

The door opened to reveal Harry, fresh from the shower, with wet hair. He wore a pair of shorts and had a tank top on.

"How are you feeling, Daphne?"

"Ok," she said, giving him a smile. "How do you feel?"

"I feel much better. It seems that all I needed was a pain relief potion and then some nice exercise."

"And a good shag too," Daphne added.

"That too," Harry said, with a lopsided smile. "You'd probably feel better after a shag."

"Maybe Fleur will give me one," Daphne said, deviously.

"As long as I can watch," Harry said, giving the now-blushing girl a wink. "Since it's my turn to fix lunch, what do you want to eat? And Fleur, are you eating with us?"

"I will if you don't mind," Fleur said. "Daphne, what do you want?"

"Surprise me, Chef Harry," Daphne said, using a nickname she'd given him after she found out he was a good cook. "You know some of the things I've liked of yours."

Harry nodded.

"It won't be too much, as I have a hour and a half occlumency session, but it will be decent enough," he promised. Harry looked at his watch. "I've got to go. See you at lunch. And enjoy the morning off."

Daphne and Fleur smiled at Harry's retreating form, both women enjoying the view.

* * *

At lunch, Harry surprised them by having two large vegetable pizzas and a fruit salad made from fresh fruit. The four women ate a lot of the pizza, and Harry was surprised that nothing was left.

"This is great!" Daphne said. "I don't think I've ever had anything so good."

Harry smiled at her and spoke.

"Well, I like pizza, and the Dursleys made me cook a lot for them."

Daphne scowled at Harry's mention of the Dursleys, but her smile returned.

"What's happening this afternoon?"

"Harry will have individual study and practice time while you join me for occlumency," Adrianna said to Daphne. "Then, at three, we'll get together and you'll meet your field healing instructor, Madam Renoir. Fleur will join you for those classes, as she is studying to be a healer."

"What does field healing mean," Harry asked.

Daphne answered the question.

"A field healer is someone who is trained in emergency medicine to treat injuries in the field," she said. "Most often, they stabilize someone to transfer them to a hospital like St. Mungos, or a healer like Madam Pomfrey. Each Auror squad has at least one trained field healer, and these are sometimes called medi–wizards or –witches."

"That's right," Fleur said. "But you also forget one thing. A Field Healer is also a fully trained healer. They specialize in emergency treatment of injuries, and Madam Pomfrey at Hogwarts is one of the best."

"How long does it take to become a Field Healer?"

"You can learn everything you need to know this summer for the basic certification," Fleur said. "That's what I need to work at Hogwarts, and I will join you on September 1st since I must be there all year to meet the requirements of the British Healing Training Program."

"Do you think Madam Pomfrey would mind teaching this to students," Harry asked Daphne. "It seems like an interesting elective for those who are in their OWL or NEWT years."

"Probably a NEWT elective, Harry," Daphne said. "The OWL students have too many classes to take it."

Harry thought about it and nodded. It sounded about right to him.

"Adrianna, are you going to sit in on the class?"

"No. Annabelle and I are going to leave you with your instructor and then we're going to take care of our other business. There is a reason that we often leave you to learn individually during the afternoons and evenings. We have other duties for our jobs. And if we aren't doing that, we're preparing the curriculum for you to learn from. There are things that you can't learn due to your magic. Some of the magic techniques are designed specifically for a Veela."

"Oh," Harry said. "But Fleur will join us?"

"She'll have her own lessons in the mornings with a Veela Healing class to learn advance magic and Veela-Specific things," Adrianna explained.

"When will we start the animagus process?"

"You'll begin to learn that in your theory hour," Adrianna said. "We're advanced enough that you will begin to get advanced transfiguration theory that will help you with the animagus process. And it will help you learn the NEWT spells as well. Much of this theory will be on your OWL and NEWT exams at some point."

"It will," Fleur said. "Every NEWT student learns about animagi, at least the theory about them and why magic allows it to happen. You will learn more than a normal student will, and I'm sure you can convince Professor McGonagall to teach such a class to you and others who qualify."

"I don't know if I would want that," Harry said. "Too many people would know I'm in the class and would know what I am trying to do. And she would make me register any form that she finds I have."

"I agree with Harry," Daphne said. "We don't want anyone else to know that we're studying to become animagi. Right now, there are too many wrong people who would love to get the chance to kill us."

"And some of your classmates would obviously abuse this and many wouldn't qualify," Adrianna said, thoughtfully. "I can see why it isn't an offered class. Not many people would be able to complete the transformation, making it a waste of time. It's easier and better to hire a private tutor to train someone as an animagus."

"How many animagi do you think there are?"

"Probably around ten or so in the UK," Adrianna said. "Most of them would be unregistered, or have a form that is classified by one of the various Ministry agencies."

"I personally know three," Harry said.

"I know Sirius Black and McGonagall," Daphne said. "Who is the third?"

"Peter Pettigrew."

"The rat who escaped Azkaban," Daphne asked.

"Yes," Harry said, bitterly. Wormtail had escaped Azkaban just a few days after being placed there by the Ministry to await his Dementor's Kiss. "The bastard who betrayed my parents and led to me being an orphan."

The woman said nothing, as there was nothing to say at this outburst.

* * *

"What do you think Harry is doing for his birthday," Hermione asked Ginny Weasley, as they sat in their room the evening of July 30th.

"I don't know," Ginny said. "I would hope that he has someone to celebrate his birthday with. After all, he hasn't had that many parties for his birthday with his nasty relatives."

"No he hasn't," Hermione said. "I think he mentioned once that your brother sent him his first ever birthday card for his thirteenth birthday."

Ginny frowned. That wouldn't do for the Boy-Who-Lived. The redhead knew that she wanted to get Harry something so he wouldn't forget about her. After all, she was going to try to snag him this year since she was single, at the moment.

Hermione had other reasons for putting together a gift for Harry. It was to make her feel better and to remind her friend that there were those who cared about him.

Once the two were done with the gifts, they placed them in the pile that would be given to Harry as soon as they were able to do so. Dumbledore had forbidden them from sending anything to Harry, so they prepared a package that Sirius would take to Gringotts to be delivered to Harry using a secure courier. This went against Dumbledore's orders to keep Harry with no communications with his friends, but Sirius didn't care. He just wanted to remind his godson that there were those out there who cared for him, no matter how other people made him feel.


	7. A Birthday to Remember

**AN: This chapter should be the final one before Harry finds out his Animagus form. The poll will be closed when I get around to writing the scene.  
**

Harry awoke as he felt warmness around him. He looked down, expecting to see the blond hair of Fleur Delacour bobbing up and down on him. Instead, he found the brunette head of his traveling companion, Daphne. He groaned in delight, having had dreams where Daphne had done this for him.

Her brown eyes found his green eyes when she paused in her ministrations to check on him. He smiled at her and she smiled back before resuming her self-assigned task. Harry lay back and enjoyed the feelings that he had come to love.

He looked up when he felt several hands on him. This time, the hair associated with the hands was blonde, but it was from three separate women, all of whom Harry had shagged in the past thirty six hours. He was in heaven as the four women continued to give him things that he wanted, and, in their minds, deserved for his fifteenth birthday.

After his release, he pulled the brunette up to him and gave her a kiss. She kissed him back forcefully, and his hands started to roam over her body. His right hand reached down, and she stopped him.

"No, Harry," She said, softly. "I'm not ready for that."

"Ok," Harry said.

When Fleur straddled him, Harry closed his eyes and knew this morning would be one helluva patronus memory.

* * *

At lunch time, Harry finally managed to get out of the bed. He looked down to see three napping Veela and one gorgeous brunette on his bed. He almost didn't believe that they had done that. He'd shagged all three of them except for Daphne, but he'd pleasured her and she'd pleasured him. He smiled at their sleeping forms and almost joined them again, but he decided it was better if he went to the tub to relax a bit.

He got into the tub, planning on soaking for a while on his day off. After all, Daphne had forcefully told him that he was to do no training, studying, or work on his birthday. He should leave that up to the women. Harry opened his eyes as Daphne slid into the warm water with him.

"Daphne, why did you do that?"

She smiled.

"You've been so good to me, and I felt left out every time I heard or saw you shagging."

Harry smiled and placed his hand on her soft face.

"You don't need to feel left out, Daphne," Harry said. "And you shouldn't have felt you needed to do what you did for me. I can handle it."

"I know," Daphne said. "I did it for me, not you. I wanted to do something that the prudish purebloods would frown upon."

"So you are a revolutionist?"

"No," Daphne said, smiling at him. "I consider myself a modern woman."

Harry leaned over and kissed her lips. She returned the kiss and let his hands roam her bare body. As they swapped spit, she knew that their relationship had changed for good or bad. But at least they could enjoy it right now.

They broke apart in a hurry when a voice startled them.

"You know," Adrianna said. "You can shag her arse and still be ready for that ritual."

"What ritual," Harry said.

"I'm going to help them perform the purification ritual on you, Harry," Daphne said.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," Daphne said. "The time we've spent together made me realize that you are a great man, and I would like to spend more time with you."

"I can say likewise, Daphne," Harry said. "But I don't want you doing something you'll regret."

"From the looks on the faces of Adrianna, Annabelle, and Fleur, I won't regret it one bit once I don't get so sore. Anyway, we'll have plenty of time to make love after this."

"When?"

"I'm going back to train as a curse-breaker and warder with you," Daphne said. "I wrote to Ragnok and he said that I could go with you. The plan is to go back in time ten years."

"You'll have ten years less to live from your date of birth," Annabelle said. "Any time travel reduces the number of months you live linearly from your date of birth."

"So you mean without counting any time travel," Daphne asked.

"Precisely," Annabelle said. "All time turners reduce your lifespan when considering the time from your date of birth."

"So they weren't taking anything that wasn't expected from me?"

"No," Annabelle said. "There are a few time turners that the goblins have given wizards before that did take more than a one-to-one ratio of life expectancy. And that is one reason wizards hate goblins and are skeptical of their time turners."

"I see," Daphne said. "Is there any way to tell?"

Annabelle shook her head as she slid into the tub with the couple.

"Daphne, I think this big boy needs some help," Annabelle purred. "Do you want to give up your anal virginity to him?"

Daphne nodded.

"Then let me teach both of you a helpful spell. Don't worry. It feels great, Daphne. You'll love it."

Harry's eyes went wide, and he pinched himself. He had to be dreaming.

* * *

That afternoon, Daphne walked funny as they headed toward the beach to lay out. Harry had taken advantage of what she had given him, and he couldn't wait to see if she felt that way in the traditional way of sex.

Daphne, for her part, remembered the morning with a certain fondness she would carry with her for the rest of her life. It had been a new sensation for her, and one that she knew her best friend Tracey Davis would want to hear the details of. But Daphne wondered if she could tell Tracey these details. She put it out of her mind as she felt Harry's hands tugging on her bikini top, trying to remove it.

Daphne let him remove her top, and she also removed her bottom. Harry removed his clothes as well, and they were going to get a full body tan.

As they lay out in the nude beside several Veela, there was a general increase in the number of Veela passing by. Many of them were staring at Harry, not caring that Daphne and anyone else who cared to look would catch them staring.

For some of these Veela, it was the first time they had seen a live man naked. For others, they started to fantasize about having someone with Harry's size have fun with them.

Fleur opened her eyes to see the dozens of naked Veela sunbathing around them. She smirked as she saw Harry's flagging problem. She decided to help him with that problem and proceeded to make love to him on the beach, not caring that everyone on the island would hear about it in the next few days.

Of course, nothing negative would be mentioned about it because the Veela Matriarch had come to take a look at Harry herself, as had members of the Veela council. They had given Harry an appreciative look, as it had been quite a while for many of the Veela elders to have a man like Harry to look at.

Dinner that evening was a joyous affair. Harry's Veela friends and instructors had arranged a birthday party for him, and it was the event to be at. The Veela came in droves, and almost all of them gave him a kiss on the lips or cheek. The older Veela tended to give him a kiss on the cheek like an older Aunt would do. The younger ones liked to kiss him on the lips while pressing up against his bare chest.

After all, this party was on the beach, and all of the Veela were either naked, topless, or wearing bikinis with the exceptions of the elders, who wore loose sun dresses. Daphne wore a skimpy bikini that left little to the imagination, and she giggled all night with Fleur and the other teen Veela, most of whom were drinking American concoctions called Margaritas or wine coolers that some of their number had brought from America.

Harry enjoyed the night, especially when several groups of Veela were playing a volleyball tournament with him acting as referee. He spent more time watching bouncing bodies than a bouncing volleyball. But no one really cared as long as Harry enjoyed himself.

What surprised Harry about the evening was Daphne going down on him as he was watching the game. It was good to be him, Harry thought, as he continued to watch the interesting game of volleyball.

When Harry finally got to bed, he closed his eyes, hoping that he would remember this day forever.

* * *

While Harry enjoyed the birthday party the Veela threw for him, the Order of the Phoenix held another meeting. These meetings seemed to be more frequent, as Dumbledore seemed desperate to find Harry and desperate for information about the activities of the Death Eaters and the Ministry.

Snape was not at this meeting, as he was scouring Europe for potions ingredients that his Master desired. The others were generally present at the meeting, including Poppy Pomfrey.

"Where's Fleur," Bill asked Madam Pomfrey.

"Mr. Weasley," the Hospital-Wing Matron said. "Miss Delacour has gone to take a Field Healing course in France. She will return in time for school to resume."

"Why didn't she take the training at St. Mungos," Bill asked. "They're offering the course."

"Mr. Weasley," McGonagall said. "Miss Delacour wishes to seek certification in both the United Kingdom and France. The French course is acceptable to both certification bodies. The British course is not acceptable in France without attending an addendum course. It is in her best interests to attend courses in France over the summers."

Bill frowned, as he didn't like this. He hadn't wanted Fleur to leave England for quite a while, as he hoped to get more than his eye on her. For all he knew, she could find a man she loved and started a relationship with him.

Madam Pomfrey noted Bill's frown and frowned herself. She didn't like how the eldest Weasley child thought about her new assistant and Apprentice.

"Miss Delacour did inform me about this," Dumbledore said, with his grandfatherly look in place. "She will be better prepared for her duties with this course, and it will help us with international cooperation. Mr. Weasley, while you are in a speaking mood, have you heard anything about Mr. Potter's accounts or about what Gringotts is doing for the war?"

"No Headmaster," Bill said. "Whenever I approach someone speaking in English, they either stop talking or switch to a language I don't know. I have become something of an outcast at Gringotts due to my association with the Order of the Phoenix."

"Why is that," Kingsley asked, interested in the answer.

"I made myself slightly unwelcome at Gringotts and lost any goodwill the goblins had for me by questioning Gringotts employees extensively about joining the fight against You-Know-Who or about the Potter Account."

"What are your duties now?"

Bill frowned.

"I've been relegated to the night shift examining the wards over the vaults," he said. ''I have to report in for my shift at midnight."

"We shall be through with our meeting by then, William," Dumbledore said. "Arthur, what is Amelia doing?"

"Headmaster," the Weasley patriarch said. "I cannot reveal any details. Amelia has made the Department Heads and all Ministry employees take an oath of silence. If we violate it, we can be charged with treason during a State of Emergency. You won't get me to speak of anything because I don't want to risk my life or my job for your desires for information," the newly appointed deputy head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement said.

"Auror Tonks?"

"I cannot speak of it sir. The answer is always that I cannot speak of it. I may speak more if the State of Emergency runs its course, but until then, I can't speak of it."

"Kingsley?"

"The same," the black Auror said, tired of Dumbledore's games with their lives. It was obvious to the black Auror that Dumbledore didn't care about them. He just wanted someone to give him information for the Greater Good, or, rather, for Dumbledore's own reasons. "And Headmaster, I do have to warn you about something. Minister Bones has been giving strong hints that Ministry Employees who are a part of any outside organization that does not have the approval of the Ministry of Magic will be at a serious disadvantage for promotions and pay raises. The Order of the Phoenix is about to go on the banned list, so you will be short several members who work for the Ministry."

"This is an outside job," Dumbledore said.

"Albus," Moody said. "You are risking the magic and lives of some of the best we have at the Ministry. Kingsley, Arthur, Nymphadora, and the others who work for the Ministry should resign from the Order of the Phoenix to preserve their jobs and their lives. This organization is not worth it to their careers or lives. And several of you have families you need to support."

"I can't afford to lose any of you," Dumbledore said.

"But you are going to lose some," Moody said. "I have spoken to Amelia. She is going to reactivate me and I have to swear an oath. When I swear that oath, I cannot work with the Order anymore, just like I wouldn't be able to work with the Death Eaters. It is coming, Albus. The Order of the Phoenix is going to fall apart."

"I'd say that is a good thing, in a way," Sirius said. "After all, we don't do much other than listen to Snivellus bitch about being cursed and listen to the old folks bitch about how the young people don't do anything."

"Sirius Black, that language is not called for," McGonagall said.

"Minnie," Sirius said, with a grin on his face. "I think it is. The Order of the Phoenix is nothing more than a dinner club lately. That's all we seem to do since Amelia has taken over the Ministry. She has forbidden our participation in actively pursuing Death Eaters unless you work for the Ministry. And she will soon forbid Ministry employee participation in this organization."

"What are you going to do, Sirius," Tonks asked her cousin.

"I'm going to work for Amelia as a Special Hit Wizard," Sirius said. "I'm going to swear the oath soon, and I will have to resign from the Order of the Phoenix to do so. So Albus, this is my official resignation from your bird-watching club. I cannot allow you to use my house as your meeting place anymore, so remove your people from my house and turn over control of the Fidelius Charm to me."

"I can't do that, Sirius."

Sirius grinned. Remus knew that the animagus had something up his sleeve.

"I, Sirius Orion Black, Head of the House of Black, hereby claim control of the wards over the House of Black."

Dumbledore grimaced in pain and then fainted as he lost control of the wards forcefully. Everyone who had known the secret before lost it, and Sirius grinned at the looks on their faces.

Madam Pomfrey looked over at Sirius as she looked over the Headmaster. A few scans showed his health was deteriorating.

"Minerva, has Albus been taking any potions?"

"Not that I know of. Why?"

What Madam Pomfrey told him shocked the audience.

"Albus Dumbledore is in the advanced stages of Dementia. Someone has been supplying him potions, and this explains how his behavior has been getting more and more erratic with regards to certain people."

"Madam Pomfrey, what do you say?"

"Deputy Headmistress, I declare that Albus Dumbledore is physically and mentally unfit to assume the role of Hogwarts Headmaster."

It was little known that the school healer could remove anyone who was not fit to be at Hogwarts. With that official statement, Poppy Pomfrey forced Albus Dumbledore into an early retirement for his health.

Professor McGonagall looked sadly at the old man lying on the floor, unconscious.

"I, Minerva McGonagall, the Deputy Headmistress of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, accept the declaration that Albus Dumbledore is unfit for his duties as Headmaster."

A bright flash of magic occurred on both Dumbledore and McGonagall. The wards had changed from Dumbledore to McGonagall, the new temporary Headmistress of Hogwarts.

Madam Pomfrey looked sad at her old friend and classmate.

"Minerva, let's get him to St. Mungos. There's nothing I can really do for him."

The two women touched a portkey while holding onto Dumbledore's arm. Albus Dumbledore would die in a matter of weeks from the health problems he'd been hiding with the help of Snape.

McGonagall would be confirmed as the Headmistress, and Professor Flitwick would be elevated to Deputy Headmaster. A new Transfiguration Mistress would be hired, as would a new Potions Professor to take the place of the fired Severus Snape. The new Head of Slytherin would be Professor Vector while Professor Burbage would take over as the Head of Gryffindor.

The Order of the Phoenix would cease to exist, as the primary members capable of fighting and planning were Ministry employees and forbidden from participating in a vigilante group.

**

* * *

HEADMASTER DUMBLEDORE REMOVED FOR HEALTH REASONS.**

**MCGONAGALL NAMED HEADMISTRESS, FLITWICK DEPUTY.**

**SEVERUS SNAPE: DEATH EATER SPY.**

**MLE SQUAD TO PATROL HOGWARTS AT HEADMISTRESS'S REQUEST.**

Harry choked on his drink when he read the _Daily Prophet_ headlines from the last week. They only got the issues a week at a time due to the issues of transporting them to the island.

"What's wrong, Harry," Daphne asked, as she looked at him.

"Dumbledore was in the advanced stages of dementia and Madam Pomfrey removed him for health reasons. McGonagall is the new Headmistress, and Snape was arrested for being a Death Eater when he returned to England."

"This is a big shock," Daphne said. "Obviously, they knew Snape was a Death Eater."

"Dumbledore protected him," Harry said. "And this explains why the Headmaster was so obsessed with me and a few other things. He was losing control of his actions and truly did think his actions were for the best."

Fleur smiled sadly.

"Yes," she said. "Dementia is a bad one. He will be losing most of his memories and such and then will die in a few months after that happens."

Harry bowed his head.

"And to think I hated the old man. It wasn't really his fault. Snape is the one who continued to supply him with potions to hide his condition."

"Who are they hiring to take the place of McGonagall and Snape?"

"The paper doesn't say," Harry said. "I suppose we'll find out at the Welcome Feast."

"How many students will leave because Dumbledore is not there?"

"Several," Harry said. "And with Snape gone, some of the Death Eater children will probably not return as well."

"We hope," Daphne said. "I know McGonagall will not play favorites and will punish anyone who does wrong. Dumbledore didn't do that. He allowed Snape and the Death Eater children to get away with hurting others emotionally or physically and punishing students who were only defending themselves."

"I know all too well," Harry said. "Gryffindors and Potters are the favorite targets of Death Eaters in Training and Snape."

Daphne nodded. She wholly believed that the house issues would begin to solve themselves now that there was a new administration at Hogwarts. And this administration wouldn't allow bullies to prosper.

* * *

Voldemort read over the headlines that his minion brought him. He was pleased the Muggle-loving fool was out of the way. But he was angry that Snape was arrested as a Death Eater. It lost him his only potions master, and Snape had some idea of where to find basilisk venom.

That was changed now, as Snape would have been interrogated by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement under veritaserum, and it would put a big dent in Voldemort's operations regarding potions. And Snape knew the names of several Ministry employees who had escaped the purge that Minister Bones had placed the Ministry through.

When Wormtail entered the room, he was the first that day to feel the Dark Lord's wrath at losing his potions master as well as access to the store of basilisk parts that Snape had. The Ministry would get their hands on the potions ingredients Snape had hidden in a secure place for the Dark Lord. And that made the curse extra vengeful today.

* * *

Hermione was still shocked over Dumbledore's removal as Headmaster, and the revelations of his health problems. It also explained to her why the Headmaster had started to make irrational decisions regarding Harry and several other issues, such as Snape's employment at Hogwarts. It was logical that Snape would provide potions to Dumbledore that would hide his medical conditions from everyone, but only when the Headmaster gave Snape what he wanted.

This was what Hermione expected to be the reason Snape was never reprimanded over his childish actions or for protecting the Slytherin Death Eaters in Training who picked fights only to go running to Snape. Hermione was quite angry at the revelations as well. She wondered how this escaped the attention of everyone at Hogwarts or even people who knew Dumbledore well.

Even those old timers such as Elphias Doge and Griselda Marchbanks, who had known Dumbledore for the vast majority of his life, didn't catch what was happening to the aging Headmaster.

The reports Hermione heard saddened her, as she felt sorry for the old man, but was angry that such a thing was allowed to happen.

Ron, on the other hand, was celebrating Snape's departure from Hogwarts. Hermione knew that would help the potions grades improve at Hogwarts, but Snape's replacement would have a hard time helping students prepare for OWLs and NEWTs at this late stage.

Hermione was also worried about Harry. She knew that he was safe, as he'd just sent them a letter just after he received the package of gifts they sent him. He sent each an individual thank you card, but a letter for all of those who sent him gifts. In the letter, he thanked them for their gifts, and stated that he would return to Hogwarts on September 1st as planned.

* * *

Minerva McGonagall sighed as she placed the last of Albus' things in the box. She'd had the job of going through his office and quarters to remove everything and send it to his brother. However, Aberforth had come up to help her go through the things.

Knowing Albus was dying, Aberforth told Minerva to let Harry read Albus' notebooks of plans and study from his personal library. The Younger Dumbledore brother also said that Albus wanted Harry to receive his pensieve and a number of memories, so that would be given to Harry upon his return from wherever he was.

"Minerva?"

"Yes Aberforth?"

"Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome," she replied. "I'm just sad that we didn't get him help. He could have been a much better person if he would have retired and been under less stress."

"My brother was always hardheaded," the man said, sadly. "I should have known something was wrong with him, but I just assumed he was being eccentric with his actions. I wonder what the world would be like today if he had asked for help from someone other than that Death Eater."

"I know," Minerva said. "But there is nothing we can do about it now. It's in the past, and we have to move on from here."

"Indeed we do. When Mr. Potter gets back, I would like to have some time each week to train him," the man said.

"Why would you want to train him?"

"Albus isn't the only Dumbledore who knows a lot of magic. After all, it was Cornelius Fudge who made up those ridiculous rumors about my inappropriate charms on goats."

"I hardly think a talking goat is appropriate," McGonagall replied. "But it is nothing to get in trouble about."

"Most people assume I did some other charm to a goat," the man said, with a look of mirth on his face. "Anyway, would you please let me know when Mr. Potter will be available? I think I should teach him soon."

"Why is that?"

The man gave her a sad smile.

"The Dumbledore line is at an end. And from the way Albus talked of him, I think he is the only one worthy of inheriting our things. I don't think he'd want my pub, but I'll leave him everything."

"You don't even know the boy."

"If he's anything like his parents, then he is a person I want on my side, Minerva. I imagine the kid has a good head and a large heart. I just fear that he was stifled for far too long by my mentally ill brother. I hope he can recover and we can help him do so."

"Do you think I should help him train?"

"Yes I do. I think you should offer to train him to become an animagus, with the stipulation that he registers his form at the end of the war."

"I will consider it. I don't know if he is ready for that type of study yet. Even my best NEWT students would have a hard time with that training program."

"Minerva, we don't really know what the kid can do," Aberforth said. "Before I go, I want to say one more thing."

"Yes?"

"I will report anything I hear that threatens Hogwarts to you," he said. "I am going to be in contact with Alastor discretely as well. He's gathering intelligence and studying it for Amelia."

McGonagall nodded to the man, who shrank several boxes and placed them in his pocket to take with him.

"Remember to let Mr. Potter study these books and encourage him to do so. If he shows an aptitude for a subject, maybe you should arrange for private tutelage. The rest of the school can be told that he's been given an apprenticeship or something."

"That could work," the Headmistress mused. "I will have to think on it. I will be in touch."

"So will I, my old friend. So will I."

After Aberforth left, the Floo came to life.

"Minerva?"

"How can I help you, Molly?"

"I want to talk to you about the letter that you just sent my sons."

"Come on through. We do have a lot to discuss."


	8. The Summer Vacation Ends

**AN: Thank you for those of you who voted in the poll. The winning form will be shown in this chapter. And thank you for continuing to read and review my story.**

Harry awoke when he felt movement on the bed. He opened his eyes to see Fleur and Daphne in the middle of one of their favorite things since Fleur had arrived. He smiled at the couple and moved the covers off of him.

"Harry," Fleur asked, looking at him. "Do you need help with that?"

Harry nodded, and Daphne smiled.

"So, Harry, now that you've had the purification ritual, do you think we can continue to shag," Daphne asked. "I'd really like to."

Daphne and Fleur smiled when Harry twitched.

"I think he likes the idea, Daphne," Fleur said, with a flirty smile. "Shall we?"

"Yes," Daphne said. "I hope you're ready for a lot of fun, Harry," the brunette said, her sparkling eyes showing her excitement.

The two women moved to either side of Harry, and the teen closed his eyes to enjoy this bit of heaven. He reached over to grab them, and found his hands on bare skin, not that he expected anything else after his birthday. They'd been staying in the bed with him every night, and both Annabelle and Adrianna were slightly put out by it. It meant they couldn't join him in the bed at night.

But then again, Daphne and Fleur were so understanding and allowed Harry to enjoy the expert tutelage and extra training his tutors offered him. They often joined in on that extra training, and Harry had never known such a fabulous summer.

* * *

At lunch, the threesome made their way to the kitchen, where Annabelle sat reading the latest issue of the _Daily Prophet_.

"You three are leaving tomorrow," she said, giving Harry a sad look.

"Annabelle, we're going to miss you too!" Daphne said. "You can always come and visit us."

Annabelle nodded.

"I know," she replied. "But it's not going to be the same. Not without our boy toy."

Harry blushed slightly, as he did whenever one of the women referred to him as their boy toy. The nickname had stuck after his birthday, and he had to endure it every day. Of course, he didn't think anyone would have trouble enduring it if they got to play like he did.

"How do you feel, Harry," Adrianna said, sipping on a cup of hot tea. She only sipped tea when she was tired, and after the exhausting ritual, she was surprised to see the teens awake.

"I feel great," he said. "Thanks to you."

"You can thank Daphne for the potent ritual," Adrianna said. "We didn't have to have her there and using a virgin gets the best results."

"It was worth it," Daphne said, giving Harry a fond smile. "Making me wait was worth the hype and the ritual healed me so I could jump right in on the fun this morning."

"And that was a good thing," Harry said, smiling fondly at his lover. The Veela shared a look and then all three nodded at once.

"Harry?"

"Yes Fleur?"

"There is one thing I wish to ask you and Daphne."

"Ok," Harry said, turning his attention to the gorgeous woman.

"The laws in England are quite barbaric," she said. "Especially in regards to those of other heritage, such as a Veela. I have enough Veela blood in me to be affected by these laws."

"How come you weren't affected last year," Harry asked.

"The Ministry of Magic gave me and my sister an exception for the tournament in the hopes of getting cooperation out of the French Government," Fleur said. "What I mean is that when I return, certain parties may claim me as their sex slave."

"That's horrible," Daphne said. "How can we prevent that?"

"I would need a sponsor to claim me," Fleur said. "I hate to do this, but I would need it to happen. Any my sister Gabrielle would like to have a sponsor as well so she can visit me in peace."

"What does this sponsor have to do," Harry asked.

Daphne smirked.

"Well, Harry, what she means is that she wants you to claim her as your concubine, which is easier to release than a sex slave under the laws. We can do it in such a way that she is free to seek other relationships at her discretion and you can release her when someone else is willing to claim her and she agrees," Daphne said.

"Is that possible?"

"It is," Fleur said. "I've been doing research ever since I found out about that law. I've heard rumors from a friend that William Weasley is going to attempt to claim me as his concubine so he can have me, and then can have a pureblood witch like his mother wants him to have."

Harry scowled.

"Fleur, I will gladly be your sponsor. I will need directions on how to do this properly and ensure that it is good for you."

"Good thing I have the contract ready, then," Adrianna said. "I knew this was going to be a problem, and the Veela Nation have contracts like this one available for circumstances like this. Read through this carefully and then consider signing it," she said. "Once it is signed, as Fleur has agreed to the terms, then it is only revocable when the two of you decide to stop it."

Harry looked up at Daphne.

"Go ahead, Harry," Daphne said, with a fond smile. "This will get you private quarters at Hogwarts that we can use to enjoy our nights."

Harry read over the contract and signed it after clarifying a few questions he had. When the contract flashed, Fleur smiled as she felt something land on her neck.

"What's that," Harry asked.

"This is the traditional sign of a concubine," Daphne said, fingering the choker complete with Potter Family Crest on Fleur's neck. "It symbolizes your claim over her, and Fleur's dedication to taking care of you and your needs ahead of even her own. Many people will be jealous of you for having a Veela concubine, especially one willingly signing the contract."

"What of Gabrielle," Harry asked Fleur.

"My parents wish to meet with you to discuss this, Harry," Fleur said. "I was told I was old enough to make my own decisions, but Gabrielle will need a sponsor if she is to visit me during the holidays. Mama doesn't need a sponsor since she is married."

"But Gabrielle is a minor."

"Veela are considered adults once they reach twelve years of age," Adrianna said. "Young Gabrielle is twelve."

"Twelve? I thought she was about eight or nine."

Fleur laughed.

"You don't know much about Veela, then," she said. "You see, Harry, a Veela generally ages slower than witches or young human girls. When they reach the age of twelve or thirteen, the Veela often looks like a ten year old child. The younger she looks, the more her Veela heritage will come out. Gabrielle is more of a Veela than I am."

"And when she reaches the age of puberty and maturity, she will mature in a hurry," Adrianna added. "This means that she will look like a sixteen or seventeen year old witch at the age of thirteen or fourteen. And she will have all of the desires of a mature adult. This also means that she will seek to find a mate and become sexually active, and men will actively try to use her."

Harry scowled at that.

"If I give her this status, with your parents' permission, would it protect her from unwanted advances?"

"Most of them," Fleur said. "Some Veela have been raped even though they were in marriages, betrothals, or concubines," she said. "But that is considered an attack on the house of whoever she is protected by, or attached to. It has been the cause of Blood Feuds in the past, so many wizards take care not to attack a Veela they know is claimed. With laws such as those in England, Veela rapes are not considered rapes. The law states that a Veela's charm is what causes the unwanted sexual activity, so it is the Veela's fault due to the charm."

"That's a bunch of bullshit," Harry muttered. "It shouldn't matter if it is a Veela or not, Charm or not. Rape is rape."

"The law doesn't see it that way, Harry," Daphne said. "Like I told you earlier this summer, England has some of the worst magical laws in existence on the planet today. It's like our society has stagnated and continued to live in the past while everyone else heads into the future. For instance, if my parents were alive, they would have disowned me for my activities with you this summer. Losing my virginity, while protecting me from being used in certain evil rituals, also ensures that my father would not have gotten a good bride price for me."

"Such barbaric traditions," Harry muttered.

Daphne smiled at him.

"And that's why we're going to work the change the system from within the system."

"I'm a half-blood, Daphne."

"You're also one of the most famous men in Europe," she countered. "You can use your fame for good, and, when you defeat You-Know-Who, you can use that fame to catapult yourself into a Wizengamot Seat and start to make changes to the system from within the system. If you have the right allies, then it will be made much easier."

"And I guess that's what you want from me?"

Daphne nodded.

"Yes. I am into political intrigue, and I would like to run for Minister of Magic one day."

Harry smiled.

"Then you'd have one supporter already."

Daphne's grin lit up the room, and Harry didn't know why she'd grinned like that. At least until she told him in no uncertain terms that his support could almost guarantee her the position later in life if things went their way.

"Now, before you leave, I want to have one of our Transfiguration Experts come over to supervise the animagus testing," Annabelle said. "If you'll wait right here, I will go and get Madam Anderson."

The two teens looked at each other with grins on their face. This was the moment of truth.

* * *

When Madam Anderson arrived with Annabelle, the teens were sitting in comfortable chairs that could recline. These were the best for this, as they would be sent into a trance while waiting on their animagus forms to be shown to them. And then after they knew their forms, there would be a spell cast to see if they had the magic to change into their form. If they didn't have the magic, then they couldn't train until the spell showed they were able to change into their form.

"I understand the two of you wish to test for your animagus form."

"Yes ma'am," Harry said, looking at the women.

"I agree with Harry," Daphne said, smiling.

"Who goes first?"

"I will," Daphne said. "Harry should go last."

Harry nodded. "Ladies first," he said, giving a wave of his hand.

"The first thing I'm going to do is to give you this potion," she said, handing Daphne a vial full of a bright blue potion. "This potion will open your mind and body so that you will be receptive to the vision the spell will induce. The vision will eventually show you your animagus form, and can take up to an hour to do so, depending on your form and your power. The quicker it takes, the easier it will be for you to change into the form eventually.

"So, Daphne, drink the potion and lean back in the chair. The potion will take effect almost immediately, and I will cast the spell. We will wait for you to return from your trance before we test Harry for his form."

Daphne drained the blue potion in a gulp, and her eyes glazed over as the intoxicating potion took effect. Daphne leaned back and Madam Anderson cast a spell in Norse. Daphne glowed blue for a second as the golden spell hit her. Then her eyes closed, and she was in the trance.

Harry looked over at Daphne and saw Madam Anderson with another potion.

"This potion will clear out the effects of the hallucinogenic potion," she explained. "And the two of you will want to do nothing else for the remainder of the day. Of course, it has been known to lower the inhibitions of a person for a few hours," Madam Anderson said, with a wink toward Harry.

Ten minutes after undergoing the potion, Daphne awakened. Fleur helped her drink the cleansing draught, and Daphne blinked a few times as the potion left her system.

"What form did you take?"

"A Boar," Daphne said.

"The Celtic symbol for fertility, wealth, courage, and a strong warrior," Madam Anderson said. "It is a great form. Boars are very dangerous when angered or cornered," the woman said.

Daphne looked at Harry and smiled at him. He smiled back at her. She had proven herself courageous and a warrior so far this summer, and Harry liked it. He didn't want a pansy fan-girl as a lover.

"Now, it's your turn, Harry," Daphne said.

Madam Anderson handed him the blue potion, and he drank it down. Harry felt the potion take effect, and he felt giddy about something or another.

His mind was hazy, but he soon found himself in a plain of some sort. The plain felt familiar to him, yet it was a foreign presence in his mind. He felt a powerful magical presence and turned to face where the direction it was coming from.

It wasn't there, but he could sense it, so he decided to find it.

When Harry's eyes opened an hour later, everyone was worried about him. Madam Anderson gave him the cleansing potion, and Harry shook his head to clear it.

"What was your form?"

Harry whispered something unintelligible and had a look of shock on his face.

"It is possible to be a magical animal," he asked, in a louder whisper.

"It is, but it is very difficult," Madam Anderson said. "The vast majority of those with magical animagus forms do not reach it, even after years of training."

Harry pouted slightly.

"What is your form?" Fleur asked for all of them.

"I'm a black and gold phoenix," he said.

The Veela gasped in shock. Daphne's jaw dropped in her surprise as she saw the awestruck Veela looking at Harry.

"The black and gold royal phoenix," Madam Anderson said, reverently. "Symbolizes rebirth, and the cycle of life and death. Life cannot occur without death, and death cannot occur without life. Rebirth cannot occur without death and destruction. The Royal Phoenix is the most fertile of phoenixes, and, legends state that this phoenix has a harem of its own, including several Veela in their bird forms," she added, looking at the choker on Fleur's neck.

"Can he reach it," Daphne asked, in a soft voice.

Madam Anderson cleared her head and then took up her wand. A moment later, Harry glowed a light blue color.

"He may be able to make it if he has the drive to do so," she said. "Light blue is the weakest of those who can use their form. They often are the ones who fail to reach their form and can take many months or even years to finally reach their form."

"And Daphne," Harry asked, trying not to show that his dreams of becoming an animagus had been all but shattered.

The same spell showed up a bright green.

"She will reach her form easily within two years," Madam Anderson said, with certainty. "With effort, she may be able to reach it before the end of the next calendar year."

Daphne hugged Harry, and then saw the look on his face.

"Harry, its ok, darling," Daphne said. "Not everyone can reach their form."

"I know," Harry said. "It's just a shock that I have a form that I have a small chance of ever changing into. It could take me years."

"It can," Daphne said. "But you won't give up, will you? Having that form can be very useful."

"No, I won't give up," Harry said. "I just won't expect quick results."

"And neither should you, Daphne," Madam Anderson said. "I don't want either of you trying to change yet. You will need to study your form's anatomy, physiology, and magic before you can even begin to change. Harry, I will have someone copy several of our books to help you study the phoenix. We have about a dozen rare manuscripts on various phoenixes, and this will help you."

Harry nodded and accepted the offer of help.

* * *

At 12 Grimmauld Place, Molly Weasley was not happy. She had gotten a letter from Headmistress McGonagall just after Headmaster Dumbledore had been removed from Hogwarts. The letter pertained to three of her four children still attending Hogwarts. The letter had resulted in her grounding the three boys for the letter.

McGonagall had informed her that her youngest son, Ronald, was on the verge of failing out of Hogwarts due to his lack of effort in classes. If he did not obtain at least four E's on his OWLs, then he would be kicked out of Hogwarts for failing to maintain the academic standards.

Ron had bitched and moaned about being grounded by his mother, but she had not listened to his words about it being unfair to him. In her mind, it was unfair of him to fail out of Hogwarts after she and her husband had worked hard all of their life to make sure their kids had what they needed. Ronald, it seemed, wanted everything handed to him, and Molly was going to make him earn it.

She had agreed with McGonagall and signed the contract stating that Ron would not be allowed to attend Hogsmeade weekends or Quidditch games if he was failing any class this year. And, unless he maintained an overall E average, he would not be allowed to play Quidditch at all.

Her other two sons were on the verge of being expelled for what they called pranks. Molly had grounded them as well, and forced them to start studying for their NEWTs at the end of the year. She'd removed all of their pranks, and told them they would not be going to Hogsmeade or playing Quidditch at all if their behavior did not improve. The Twins had taken it like they would a bludger, and decided to hit back by trying to show they were pleasing their mother.

Molly sighed as she looked at Hermione and Ginny sitting at the kitchen table going over their homework.

"Hermione?"

"Yes Mrs. Weasley?"

"Do you think that Harry's grades are as bad as Ronald's?"

"No," she replied, immediately. "Harry's problem is that Ronald distracts him too much and Harry doesn't really know how to tell him no. I've seen Harry work hard and he can learn what he wants to when he works hard."

"What about the Twins? What do you think they do?"

"They focus a lot of their time on playing pranks for some reason," Hermione said. "They are good at it, but it causes many disruptions. Their pranks sometimes border on cruel for those who don't like them."

"What do you mean, cruel?"

"They continually prank people who see no humor in it. And they think it is hilarious to prank people so bad they end up in the hospital wing. I don't agree with it."

Molly sighed.

"Ginny, why didn't you let me know this was going on?"

Ginny shrugged. It wasn't really any of her business, and Molly understood that her youngest Daughter was worried about her own studies and such.

"Hermione, will you report to me what my sons are doing? I do not wish for them to be removed from Hogwarts for their own laziness or failure to follow the rules."

"I can do what I can," Hermione said. "Didn't Professor McGonagall say that all students failing a class would be required to attend mandatory study hall each evening and Saturday afternoons until the professor let them out of it?"

"Yes. She explained that was something she wanted to do for years, but Albus and Severus always blocked her. She's making many changes, and I think that Albus was starting to do more harm than good as Headmaster."

"I agree with you, Mrs. Weasley," Hermione said. "I thought he was a great man, but now I see that he was just a man who let his fame go to his head and he thought he could do anything he wanted and people would love him for it."

"I agree," Ginny said, piping up to add in her two cents. "He made so many bad decisions regarding Harry that it is easy to see why the Twins and Ron think they can get away with things."

Molly sighed. She had believed in Dumbledore for so long that it hurt her to realize that he had just been a mentally ill old man when making many decisions that she now regretted. She hadn't questioned him on his decisions about Harry, and, now, she had to live with the fact that Harry had not trusted the old man and had left to get training on his own.

When Sirius Black entered the house, he found the three ladies sitting at the table with a cup of tea.

"So, ladies," Sirius said, as he sat down at the table. "Any word from Harry?"

"None," Hermione said.

"How are your boys handling their punishment," Sirius asked.

"Fred and George are handling it reasonably well," Molly said. "They're actually studying."

Sirius gave a barking laugh.

"Well, I told them that if they got four NEWTS each, I would give them two thousand galleons for their prank shop," Sirius said.

Molly and Hermione looked at the Marauder disapprovingly, but Ginny smirked.

"Mum, don't you see it? He's enticing them to study and get good grades. They want to start a joke shop, and they're smart enough to do that."

Molly sighed and nodded to Sirius. It was a method of enticement that she and her husband could not afford to do.

"Thank you, Sirius," Molly said.

"You're welcome. Now what about the other son of yours?"

"He is not taking it well," Molly said. "I told him that if he's removed from Hogwarts, I will force him to go to work somewhere to make money, and he doesn't want to earn anything. He feels that the world owes him something for being alive."

Sirius shook his head.

"Even a spoiled pureblood like Draco Malfoy would know that you had to earn some things. I don't know what to do about him, Molly. I won't just offer him money, as he is greedy. The Twins are willing to work for what they want and risk the money they're given. Your other son would just spend it on frivolous things that do not mean a thing in the big picture."

"Sirius, what would you do if he were your son? If Harry acted like him?"

"I think a good solid beating would help," Sirius said, shrugging his shoulders. "Or making him earn his food and clothes if he wanted them."

"I told him that he wouldn't get to go to Hogsmeade or play Quidditch if he wasn't averaging an E in his classes."

"I don't know if that will change him enough, Molly. He'll do it reluctantly, but I can understand why Minerva will need that. I'm sorry to say that even Percy, who seems to be a prat sometimes, understands that you have to work to get what you want."

"What do you think Harry will do this year?"

"I think he will surprise us all," Sirius said, softly. "He's free of those bastard Dursleys and Dumbledore's iron fisted control over him. Without Severus, his potions grades should increase as well. He is his parents' son for sure."

Sirius let the silence run rampant after that statement. After all, he'd had a hard day himself tracking Death Eaters. It was a hard job, and the Death Eaters weren't as careless as they had been before that Mr. Smith had taken out several of them.

* * *

At the Veela Island, Harry and Daphne were packing their things. It had been a long summer for them, and they were about to go to Gringotts and meet with Ragnok to discuss the time-travel and training. Fleur was going to visit with her parents and discuss what they wanted to do about Gabrielle before she was allowed to go back to England under those barbaric laws. And, of course, Fleur would proudly show off her choker that marked her as one of Harry's concubines.

Harry had left the offer open to Annabelle and Adrianna in case they wanted to visit England, and both said they would stay away from that country until the laws got better. Harry understood, as both women were independent and had been for so long. Joining into a concubine would limit their actions to whatever Harry approved, even if he approved everything they wanted to do. It was just easier for them to remain here on the island so they could continue with their job.

"I'm going to miss you two," Annabelle said, looking at the two humans with watery eyes.

Harry hugged her, and Daphne joined the hug. Annabelle had taught them a lot, and they appreciated everything she had given up during their stay at the island. Adrianna had also given up several good paying assignments to train Harry and Daphne for free. She believed in the two and their ability to make the changes that England so richly deserved and needed.

"I guess we will be seeing you in the future," Adrianna said, wiping her eyes. "You're always welcome back here to visit any time. Fleur can always get you here if you want to come."

"We'll visit when we can, Adrianna," Harry said. "Maybe even come here next summer for a vacation."

The two Veela smiled at Harry.

"I agree," Daphne said.

"If you two decide to get married, invite me to the wedding if you don't come before then," Adrianna said. "I'll make the night before one you'll never forget."

Harry's eyes opened wide.

"I thought I had plenty of those nights here," he asked.

The women smiled at him and then Daphne grabbed Harry by the arm. Adrianna held out the portkey to them after they were about to place on their runic bracelets. A moment later, Harry and Daphne were once again Orion and Sarah Brown. A moment after they turned back, the portkey activated, and the two were whisked off to Gringotts-London via the portkey, leaving two silently crying Veela to reflect on what their new friends meant to them.


	9. A Time Traveler's Tale, Part I

**AN: Thank you for all of those who read and review my story. As a reminder, I plan on trying to put up somewhere between two and four chapters each week until the story is completed.**

Harry landed on his feet after the portkey trip. He held his hand out to steady Daphne, and she smiled at him gratefully for not falling flat on her face in front of Ragnok, who was waiting on them.

"I see you have made a big change already this summer," the goblin said, with a slight smile. "How did you fare without the time turner?"

"We actually did very well," Harry said. "I think that using the time turner would actually be overkill since you do plan on sending us back in time."

"Indeed," Ragnok said. "I was surprised to find the time turner back. But according to goblin law, you must pay the set fee to use it again after it has returned to us. The fee increases with each return. I can do nothing about this."

"Then I will not be using the time turner, no matter how good it sounds," Harry said, noticing Daphne's calculating look.

"I understand," Ragnok said. "Even with the size of your estate, it would easily deplete your resources over your lifetime. If you want to know, the Ministry did give you a reward for detaining or killing several Death Eaters. The thousand galleon per head bounty was placed in your hidden vault."

"How much was it," Harry asked, curious.

"Fifteen thousand galleons," Ragnok said. "You are making quite a profit. I would suggest, however, that when you get back in time, you take some gold and deposit it into a vault. It would make things easier for you in that way and you won't have to worry about taking money out of the vaults when you don't need to."

Harry pondered the situation.

"Then could I get a trunk with thirty thousand galleons in it?"

"Certainly," Ragnok said. "It will be ready in a few hours, right before we get ready to send you back in time. There are many things you need to know about this method of time travel."

"What is the cost of this," Daphne asked, looking at the goblin and also keeping an eye on Harry.

"First, the cost is you will lose ten months of life expectancy just for the transfer back in time, and then will return to your own time linearly, which means no more time travel while you are in the past. You will also be required to give oaths on your magic not to change things that you know have happened, not that will occur."

"What do you mean," Harry asked.

"We have used this method for many years," Ragnok said. "We have discovered that if you take an alternative identity and swear an oath not to change the history as you know it, then things will go very well. We did send someone back without an oath, and they were not able to change history even as much as they tried. In fact, if they tried, they just ensured the events happened as they remembered.

"So we have no worries about you changing the time stream. It is nigh impossible unless you find a way to destroy the world."

"When do we leave," Daphne asked.

"You'll leave at midnight," Ragnok said. "It's the best time to do this, and the magic of the time traveling will be detected by the Ministry. They will come to investigate what we are doing, and we will most likely be forced to shut down our time travel chamber for the next few years. But that would be done anyway, as we cannot use the time travel chamber for an equivalent time for the time we sent people back. So, for you, we won't be able to use the chamber for twenty years since we are sending two of you back in time for ten years each."

"We never did take the OWLs or NEWTs," Harry said.

"No matter," Ragnok said. "I have done some research, and these are a copy of your exam scores and the dates they were given. It seems you will spend two years at a private magical academy in Antarctica. That's all I know at this time and it is all I can tell you. I can tell you that you do successfully become employed by Gringotts-Cairo after your graduation. You'll spend eight years in training and return to London on August 31st if my notes are correct."

Harry scratched his head. Time travel was confusing to a degree.

"It's a bit confusing," Daphne said. "But at least we know it works. Now how much do we owe Gringotts?"

"Because this ritual requires that several goblins give up two years of life expectancy for each year you are sent back, the cost will be five thousand galleons per lost year, or ten thousand galleons per year you are sent in the past. The total cost for the two of you together is two hundred thousand galleons."

Daphne gulped.

"I don't know if I want to pay that much."

"How much basilisk do I have left," Harry asked.

"You have more than enough, Mr. Potter," Ragnok said. "You will have about a half-million galleons worth of basilisk you have yet to sell. At least of the parts that you have given us. I know you are smart enough to save a large portion of the basilisk for your own uses."

"Indeed I have," Harry said. "Then I would like to offer two hundred thousand galleons worth of basilisk parts for Gringotts after the normal fees."

Ragnok grinned, as Gringotts would get about three hundred thousand galleons off of Harry because of that. And it was a great profit for them, with Harry earning them near a half million galleons in the past year alone. In fact, he had gained the respect of many other goblin leaders throughout the world and was looking at a promotion to a higher executive position for Gringotts-Worldwide because of earning so much money in the past few years. And if his hunch was correct, he would gain that promotion earlier than he would have if he had not worked with the teen.

"Potter, I don't want to owe you anything," Daphne said.

"You don't owe me anything, Daphne," Harry said. "In fact, I owe you."

"Why is that?"

He gave her a look. She smiled and blushed slightly when she got the meaning behind his look. She nodded and looked back up at Ragnok.

"If you'll follow me, I would like to have both of you examined by one of our healers before the trip. We will also outfit you with wands since you cannot carry your own back in time for obvious reasons. And I would suggest that you carefully consider what to carry with you in your trunk, Mr. Potter. I don't think you should carry any books that have been published since 1984 with you."

Harry nodded. It was a smart idea.

"What about books you gave me copies of?"

"Those are no problem, Mr. Potter," Ragnok said. "I will explain your possession of those copies with a letter I have completed and sealed to send to myself in the past. You should remember that I wasn't promoted to the Director of Gringotts-London until 1988. But I do have a lot of influence at that time and Director Greenfist will understand why this happened."

* * *

It took them nearly two hours to completely prepare for the trip. Harry now held in his pocket two shrunken Gringotts money chests, each of which contained ten thousand galleons. Daphne had two of her own, and she had decided they would both carry back an equal amount of money to ensure they had the money to pay for tuition at their school and for anything else they needed until they were gainfully employed.

Surprisingly, Harry had thought to do some research on the stock markets and businesses so he could make investments with some of the money they were taking in the past with them. This might not quite be legal, but it wasn't against any law either.

"So tell me again why you want to do this, Harry," Daphne asked.

"I think we should make money," Harry said. "I want to invest about half of what we carried back with us. I'm sure the rest will be fine for our purposes if we make money like I expect we will."

"And I would suggest you do that, Mr. Potter, Miss Greengrass," Ragnok said. "As far as we know, this isn't against any law, and we have not been able to change the past. Sometimes, Gringotts goblins have gone back in the past as a way of prodding our people to make lucrative investments and to pull out of investments that will collapse in a short time. In fact, we will send you back with a package explaining a few things such as investments that we will invest in the past."

Daphne smirked.

"Then I can agree to do this," she said. "If the numbers Harry calculates are correct, then we will increase the value of the invested gold about a thousand percent."

"I can assure you there are investment strategies that will do just that, Miss Greengrass, or shall I say Mrs. Smith?"

Daphne smiled. She and Harry were going back as Mr. and Mrs. Smith this time, as they decided this would be a good idea for them. Using the other identities wasn't a good idea, especially if they might travel around Europe for the remainder of the summer before going back to Hogwarts, especially after working hard for Gringotts in the Middle East if their guesses were correct.

Once the details were worked out, Harry and Daphne were led to the ritual room that would send them back in time. They wore their normal clothes and had prepared their trunks for the trip. They had nothing that was not supposed to go back with them, namely books that were printed after the date of their arrival back in time, and many heirlooms that Harry didn't want to carry back with him. The fewer items he had to worry about, the better it was for him.

At exactly midnight, the chants started from the goblins. The time travelers were in the middle of the ritual chamber while ten goblins stood around chanting. Almost all of the goblins there were elderly, and that surprised Harry to some extent. But they also had heard that these goblins were widowers and had retired from working, in most cases.

As the chant continued to pick up the pace, Harry and Daphne felt the stirring Ancient Magic. Both shivered unconsciously at the feeling of the powerful form of magic. It was more powerful than they had ever felt before, and it was ancient magic for sure.

Right as Harry opened his eyes to look, he felt the magic increase dramatically and then he knew no more.

* * *

When Harry opened his eyes, he noted they were in Gringotts. That's all he knew about it right now. He felt that his clothes had been removed, and, upon opening his eyes, he saw the outline of another bed beside him. There was a human-sized lump in the bed.

He reached over and picked up his glasses, putting them on his face. Blinking his eyes to clear his vision, he saw that his clothes were on a dresser. Worrying about his money and belongings, he opened the drawer beside the bed and was relieved to find his trunks and wand were in the drawer beside the bed.

"How are you doing, Mr. Potter," a goblin asked.

"How do you…"

"Mr. Potter, you are a Gringotts Customer, and we found the letter that was sent to our Director from the Future Director. The Director and the Deputy Director already have the letter and we know who you are."

"I see," Harry said. "Can you tell me the date and time?"

"It is August 1st, 1986."

"Good," Harry said. "It means we went back a bit farther than we planned."

The goblin spoke again.

"Mr. Potter, just to let you know, I am Manager Goldhook, and I will be assigned to take care of you and Miss Greengrass. First, I will need for you to fill out the paperwork on your new vault and the investments that the future director indicated you would like to make."

Harry nodded and sat up.

"What name will I need to put it under?"

"You should place it under your real name and your legal alternate identity," the goblin said. "I have taken the liberty of having your particulars filled in on the forms, and all I need is for you to review the forms carefully and then approve them with your signature. I will also need a magical signature and a drop of your blood for our records."

"Shouldn't you have it already?"

"We need a drop of blood for each vault opened," the goblin said. "This is how we are able to ensure only the true heirs of an account may claim them if there are no named heirs. At least before the Ministry and Gringotts are legally allowed to claim them."

"I see," Harry said.

The teen spent the next hour going over the forms and signing them. Daphne had awakened during this and she added her signatures and blood sample to the pages. Once that was done, Goldhook took the four trunks full of gold and went to place them in the vault and make investments out of two of the trunks.

"Harry?"

"Yeah Daphne?"

"When are we going to get trained?"

"I will explain that right now," Ragnok said, as he appeared. "It seems that you know me from the future and I assisted you in traveling. Am I correct?"

"You are, sir," Harry said.

"Good. I know the letter you had with you is correct, as only the current Director of Gringotts has access to the seal. Your training will commence shortly, as we have made arrangements during your week regaining your magical strength.

"You will take a portkey to the Merlin School of Magic, located near the South Pole in Antarctica. From there, someone will meet you and take you to your dorm rooms. You have been registered as James and Rose Smith, a married couple, as your plans indicate."

"Thank you," Harry said. "You have made this much easier on us."

"Director," Daphne said. "Does the Ministry of Magic know we traveled in time?"

"No," Ragnok said. "They are not aware of it and we have kept it from them. We saw no need for them to know since your records have been entered into their files."

"I won't ask how you did that," Harry said.

Ragnok gave him a grin.

"And we goblins will not reveal one of our trade secrets."

"What of our investments?"

"They will be made before the week is out," the goblin said. "And you will leave for the Academy in a week. This will give us time to indoctrinate you into the current times, though I am aware that you may have studied the events so you are familiar with them."

"That is correct," Harry said. "We did what we could to study before traveling back."

"Good," Ragnok said.

* * *

A week later, the couple was in Antarctica. Upon landing on his feet after the long portkey ride, Harry looked around to find there was a woman about forty years old waiting on them. She had a disarming smile, but something about her made Harry wary of her. She was a powerful witch and she seemed like someone one would not want to mess with.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Smith," the woman said. "I am Deputy Headmistress Jennifer Whiting. I teach Combat Magic."

Harry nodded and it made sense to him now.

"It's nice to meet you, Professor," Harry said, offering his hand. "Please call me James."

"And please call me Rose," Daphne said, giving the woman a winning smile. "We really appreciate you coming to escort us to the school."

"It is nothing," the woman replied, with a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders. "Please follow me, and we will get your paperwork completed and arrange for your aptitude and knowledge testing to place you at the proper level in classes. We can talk while we walk."

The woman led them toward her office, where they would complete the paperwork.

"I understand the two of you have been educated at Hogwarts."

"We have," Daphne said.

"What electives did you take there?"

"I took Ancient Runes, Care of Magical Creatures, and Arithmancy," Daphne said.

"And I took Divination and Care of Magical Creatures."

"I see," the woman said, giving Harry a strange look. "Unfortunately, our Divination Program requires that you be a certified seer. I don't see any chance of you entering the class without being a seer."

"I understand," Harry said. "I made a mistake in the taking the class, but I didn't think there was a way that I could change classes in the middle of a year."

"That would have been hard to do," the Headmistress said, agreeing with Harry's reasons. "However, we must test you in all core areas of magic. Here, we consider that to be Charms, Transfiguration, potions, Herbology, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Defensive Magic, Basic Offensive Magic, Magical Creatures, and Non-magical cultures. No one takes electives until are entering their sixth year, much like the two of you will be doing."

"What electives do you offer?"

"The electives an individual may be offered depends on his or her examination scores and/or aptitude in an area. If your exam scores are acceptable and you show an aptitude in a particular area for an elective, then you will be allowed into the elective. Coming from Hogwarts, we will, more likely than not, have to test you extensively and then you will be required to enroll in remedial classes until you can prove that you know the material we require."

"Does that always happen?" Daphne questioned the woman.

"Not always. Sometimes we get great students from Hogwarts who have taken it upon themselves to study certain subjects to meet the criteria. If you pass enough subjects, then you are allowed into the Advanced Courses in those subjects, and the electives that require those subjects as prerequisites. For your assistance, we offer course suggestions for various occupations and we will discuss those after we get your exam scores back."

"How long will that take," Harry asked.

"It will take no more than a day after you take your last exam. Most of the exams are easy to grade magically, and the rest of the scores are from the examiner's notes on your performance in the practical portions of the exams.

"We do also require that you submit to a magic ability test so that we can find those who need extra training to protect themselves and others. The test results are confidential, and only your advisor, and, if necessary, appropriate instructors, myself, and the Headmaster will be allowed to see your test results. This is to protect any family gifts that you do not wish for anyone else to find out you have."

* * *

A week of exams later and both Harry and Daphne were exhausted. The exams were comprehensive, and none of them had thought that they would have to show so much knowledge of magic in such a short period of time. The Deputy Headmistress smiled at them knowingly as she took them to speak of their results.

Since they were a married couple to the school, they could be counseled together and have their scores and family magic revealed at the same time as well.

"Mr. and Mrs. Smith, I'm sure that you realize that our exams are much more comprehensive than anything you can see at Hogwarts. Our students, to enter into the Advanced Curriculum, must be able to take and pass what most schools will call the graduation exams, or NEWTs."

"So we essentially took our NEWTs in our core subjects," Harry asked.

"Yes, Mr. Smith," the woman said. "That is correct. And now, I would like for you to show your abilities. All it takes is for you to place three drops of blood on this parchment."

"This looks like goblin magic," Harry said, examining the parchment with his naked eye. "It feels that way as well."

Professor Whiting looked at Harry critically. If she was right, he was exhibiting signs of being a mage diviner, or someone who can use mage sense to test for magic.

The two quickly placed their blood on the parchment after the professor confirmed it was goblin magic.

"Now, while this test is working, I want to go over your scores. You are graded on a percentage scale with a grade of 100 being the highest. The passing grades are considered to be at 60 percent, or a D, like the grading scales most primary schools use. I'm sure you are familiar with them?"

"Yes," Harry said.

"Me too," Daphne replied.

"What you may not know is that we use a variation on this exam for graduation. If you cannot get seventy five percent or higher on this exam, then you will not be allowed to receive graduation credit in the relevant courses."

"So you're saying that these are the same exams used for the graduation tests?"

"Yes," The woman said. "The exam scores are broken up into individual sub-areas of the appropriate disciplines and those scores decide what courses you are allowed to enter. To enter into the Advanced Studies of a general subject area such as charms, you must score at least 60 percent in all areas, with at least two areas with grades of 75 percent or greater. Those who enter general studies of a subject are those who tend to go on to receive Mastery Certification in those subjects and are often those who can teach. To enter into the regular level of a subject, you must score 60 percent or higher on each individual part of the exam and at least one supporting exam.

"Overall, you must score 60 percent or higher to pass into eligibility for entrance into any elective requiring this subject as a prerequisite, with 70 percent or higher suggested."

"What are my scores," Harry asked.

"This is quite interesting, Mr. Smith. You scored 90 percent in both Defensive Magic and Offensive Magic. You scored 80 percent in warding. Your other overall scores are above 70 percent with the exception of potions, Herbology, and Magical Creatures. You did manage to pass each exam at the 60 percent level."

Harry looked at his grade sheet, which contained the breakdown of each exam. He had aced the Combat Magic section, and there was a list of suggested courses.

"Are these the courses I am eligible for?"

"These are the courses you qualify for and are suggested by your examiners. Please wait a few moments before we discuss this, as I would like to discuss your wife's scores."

Daphne had scored well. She had passed everything, but her best subjects were Herbology and Potions, which wasn't surprising since the Greengrass Family tended to produce potions masters and owned a series of apothecaries around Europe. It would make sense that she did well in the subjects that are closely related to potions. Just like it would make sense Harry did well in Combat Magic and Warding, both areas where the Potters did better than most.

"Mr. and Mrs. Smith, I think we should examine your ability tests to see what other courses I would recommend for you. If you have ability in an area, then your grade requirements are usually a bit lower to be allowed into a class. But everyone who enters a class will be required to maintain grades at least 70% or higher on examinations and assignments to remain in the course. If you fail out of a co-requisite, then you will be removed from the other class unless you are averaging 90 percent or higher. But that will be difficult to do for the most part, and rarely, if ever, do we allow someone to remain in a co-requisite course of study."

The woman stopped to read the sheets of parchment.

"I'm surprised, Mr. Smith. You have a couple of rare abilities."

"What kind of abilities," Daphne asked, curious.

"Usually, I can't read this out loud with another person. But since you are married, it is assumed that you share secrets."

"That's correct," Daphne said.

Harry nodded his agreement.

"Good. I thought so. Mr. Smith, your special abilities are Mage Sense and a limited Metamorphmagus ability. Both are very rare abilities. Are you aware of those?"

Harry nodded.

"I have been using the Metamorphmagus abilities for my entire life," Harry said. "Someone locked me in an alternate form, and I was able to get the spell released when I was twelve to allow me to train and use the ability."

"I see," the woman said. "You have affinities for Combat Magic and Warding."

Harry nodded. He had known this because it was easier for him to learn magic in those areas.

"Mrs. Smith, you only have one ability: natural healing. Were you aware of that?"

"No I wasn't," Daphne said. "My parents did start to train me in healing before their unfortunate passing."

"I'm sorry to hear that your parents passed on," the woman said, sincerely.

"Thank you," Daphne said.

"As for your affinities, you have an affinity for healing magic and for potions."

"What does an affinity do," Harry asked. "Does it mean that you can't learn other things?"

"No, Mr. Smith, it does not. An affinity shows that you can learn and use magic in this area much easier than the average witch or wizard. Some can learn a lot of magic naturally, but they may have a hard time thinking outside of the box, or suggested uses. For instance, with your affinity for combat magic, you would most likely be able to quickly decide on how to use, say, a healing spell as a way to incapacitate an opponent on the field of battle. I can do that myself, and I have an affinity for Combat Magic, just as you do."

"What classes should we take?"

The rest of the meeting took quite a while. They discussed the benefits for taking each class. The deal was sealed when the Professor mentioned that they could teach each other later on after they graduated to ensure that the other was able to learn. And that would help them select diverse classes.

Harry would take Advanced Defensive Magic, Advanced Combat Magic, Advanced Warding, Advanced Runes, Advanced Enchantment, Advanced Charms, Regular Curse-breaking, Regular Arithmancy, and Regular Transfiguration. Daphne would take Advanced Potions, Advanced Herbology, Advanced Healing, Regular Combat Magic, Regular Charms, Regular Warding, Regular Curse-breaking, Regular Arithmancy, and Regular Transfiguration.

Each could choose up to six Advanced and three regular courses, or up to nine regular courses. Those classes were selected to complement their abilities and help them prepare for life. Harry had chosen to take Advanced Enchantment when he had scored high on Charms and Runes and the relevant permanent enchanting sections. It wasn't because he had an affinity for the area, but because he understood it well.

They also found out that the Healing, Combat Magic, Defensive Magic, Warding, and Curse-breaking courses included relevant material on what was generally called Dark Magic.

In general, the Advanced Courses covered all of the material of the regular course in the first year, and the second year was dedicated to Advanced Training toward Mastery Certification in the subject areas.

After they had their courses selected, the couple went to get their required textbooks from the school's general store. Each course had a set of required references they had to purchase, and many of the references were the same.

To get the books, all they had to do was to show the clerk in the general store their list, and the clerk would retrieve all of the required books and supplies. Both shelled out nearly a thousand galleons for all of the books and supplies they would need for the next two years. Thankfully, the books would last them for the entire two years of the Study Programs.

At least they knew the money would be worth it. It would provide them with a world-class education, and they would be above the other Hogwarts students in the subjects that Hogwarts taught. It would give them more time for advanced study outside of the Hogwarts curriculum when they got that far.


	10. A Time Traveler's Tale, Part II

**AN: Thank you for all of those who have read this story and reviewed. This chapter will include a synopsis of their time at the Merlin Academy of Magic, and then the beginning of their time as curse-breakers/warding experts. I won't go into too much detail about the training and jobs, but I will give a few sections that have some details on them.**

The two years at the Merlin Academy of Magic were great for Harry and Daphne. Their courses and studying for courses took nearly all of their time. Harry was taking more advanced courses than Daphne, and his work load was considerably more, but it didn't mean it was harder. Even the Regular Classes at this level were difficult, and were much worse than the Hogwarts NEWT courses in that these courses required much more material in the end.

The Transfiguration Classes including weekly individual training in the animagus transformation for those who had a form and had the ability to use it. One of the first things they learned was how to indentify an animagus and how to help someone who had an animagus form. Neither of the three Animagus Professors promised that a student who had the ability to change into their form would get it. And the students had to sign a contract stating they or their family would not hold the school responsible for anything resulting from the unauthorized use of the animagus form or for not registering the form in the home country of the student.

For Harry and Daphne, this was quite understandable. But they had registered their forms with the Veela Nation as a Dual Citizen of the Veela Nation and the United Kingdom, something their friendship with the Veela Matriarch Council allowed. Since the International Confederation of Wizards recognized the Veela Nation, their animagus forms were legally registered to world-wide standards and they could then hide their forms from the general public in any other nation unless appropriate Law Enforcement Authorities asked them for their registration papers if they were caught as animagi.

But that wasn't an issue. Harry and Daphne had made progress toward their form, and they were still a ways away from completing it by the time they graduated from the Merlin Academy. With meeting their professor once a week as a team, Daphne was the closest, being able to complete most of the transformation. Harry had a long way to go, as he was making progress, and had managed to turn his arms into wings, and, interestingly enough, to change his eyes so he could see better, by the time they graduated.

Both scored relatively well and passed the required exams to receive course credits. Daphne had passed the exit exam with a high enough score to be given certification as a Field Healer, which was a step down from a full Healer, in that she lacked the two years of formal education at a magical hospital. She had also passed the Journeyman Potions Exam, and would be working on her potions mastery.

Harry had passed the Combat Magic, Defensive Magic, and Warding Exams at the Journeyman level. He still lacked a lot of knowledge in those areas, but those were the areas he did best in. He did decently enough in the other areas.

Life in Antarctica was interesting to say the least. Portkeys could be used to travel year round, unlike the Muggles, who could only travel during the summer months in Antarctica, which were winter months in the Northern Hemisphere. With the liberal use of charms, they were able to explore the continent on various field trips, including a couple of week-long camping trips during the school holidays. This made great use of Harry's tent, and Daphne was glad that Harry had decided to bring the tent they'd rarely used before time traveling.

They could also take portkeys to Australia, New Zealand, and Chile for field trips and vacations during the school holidays. Harry had even taken three trips to participate in the International Combat Magic Squad Competition, of which he was the star member after he'd single-handedly defeated the previous team, including the school's top student dueler, during the tryouts. The only catch was they could use nothing illegal or nothing immediately lethal. And there was a set of spells that were illegal to use.

Because Harry had studied goblin battle magic, as well as parseltongue battle magic on his own time, he could use those spells as long as he used analogs to the legal spells that were listed in the rules manual for the competitions. Since Daphne studied healing, Harry helped her learn goblin healing spells since Ragnok had given him permission to teach Daphne since she was a goblin friend.

For the most part, the goblin spells were more powerful and harder to block than their wizard counterparts, and that made Harry and Daphne a well liked duo for the competition team, as each competition team was required to have at least one medic member, and Daphne had won the position by proving she could hold her own while taking care of a patient under fire.

In the end, Harry was the best at Combat Magic in the school and Daphne was the best at potions. They won academic wards for their accomplishments in those areas, including awards for their senior thesis.

Near the end of their time in Antarctica, they took the break between the last two quarters to go to Cairo and interview for positions there. Harry and Daphne were both hired, contingent upon their graduation from the Academy, and Harry would be hired as a Curse-breaker and warding apprentice. Daphne was hired as a Healer and Potions Master Apprentice, as they had chosen to focus on their best skill areas. After all, a good team had a broad range of skills available.

* * *

The night after they got their diplomas, Harry and Daphne retreated to their room to rest for their trip to the main Gringotts branch in North Africa. The branch was located in Cairo, Egypt, and was the Middle Eastern Headquarters for Gringotts.

"Daphne?"

"Yes Love," Daphne asked, knowing their room was heavily warded, thanks to Harry.

"You know, I think these two years have been grand, don't you?"

"Yes I do," she said. "Our love life is brilliant, and with that potion I learned, we don't have to worry about me getting pregnant."

Harry smiled and nodded. He was happy that Daphne had found a better contraceptive potion. It had taken both of them to find it, as it had been written in parseltongue, which, surprisingly enough, Harry found could be written by speak to a dictation quill.

Daphne looked over at Harry and wondered why he was reminiscing. Of course, it hit her that he might be proposing. She hid her grin, as she'd been waiting for this since the previous Christmas.

"It is," Harry said, starting to show his nervousness. "The reason I brought it up is that I'd like to make our relationship more permanent."

"How? I already signed the agreement to be your concubine a few months ago."

"Well," Harry said, dropping to one knee and holding out a ring. "I'd like to make you my wife for real, if you'll have me."

Daphne grinned and jumped on Harry to answer him.

The next day, a very happy Harry and Daphne finished packing their trunks. Once they were ready, their trunks were in their pockets and they left to go to the main travel area for their scheduled portkey. Their portkey was scheduled to go before anyone else, as they had a meeting with a goblin in Cairo this very day, as Cairo was several hours behind the local time at the school.

At the departure point, Professor Whiting smiled at the two as she held out the portkey.

"I do hope you'll remain in contact," the woman, who was aware of their true identities, said.

"We'll try, Professor," Daphne said, with a grin. "You know how life is."

"I do," the woman said. "Make us proud at Gringotts. You should be happy they accepted you."

The lovers smiled and accepted the portkey. It activated a minute after they received it, and then they were gone from Antarctica, moving onto a new stage of their life.

* * *

The meeting at Gringotts went well, and the two filled out the paperwork required to work at Gringotts. Their status as goblin friends put them at the head of the pile when it came to being hired at Gringotts, and Ragnok's letter to the Gringotts-Worldwide Leadership had not hurt in the least when he told them that the two had allowed Gringotts to earn several hundred thousand galleons in a two year period before being sent back in time to train and work for Gringotts.

After the paperwork was completed, they were sent through the Gringotts Employee Orientation and then sent to the orientations for their respective training programs. The training programs were often conducted together, and Daphne would split her time between the potions department and the healing section of the Gringotts-Cairo Branch. Harry would work as a curse-breaker, as curse-breakers were trained to ward and enchant at the beginning because curse-breaking required knowledge of wards and enchantments.

They would be split up to train for now because of training issues, and they did not like it, but accepted it. And Ragnok had been in contact with them, promising to marry them before they returned to their own time. He would be making arrangements for the wedding, which would take place in about two years after they started training.

For his training, Harry was assigned to a team of curse-breakers investigating the pyramids of Egypt. I was the favorite place to train curse-breakers and warders, as they had to ward their camps against marauding bandits, storms, and muggles, as well as keep the Muggles away from the areas they were exploring. And most of Gringotts' expertise was in this area, though some would be transferred to various branches to serve duties there.

However, the human employees had a lower chance of being transferred to the active branches for their work. Those humans who were allowed to transfer were among the best of Gringotts warding teams in Egypt.

Daphne was assigned to one of the Gringotts Field Hospitals in Egypt that catered to curse-breakers. With her cover identity and the ring on her finger, the wizards were not as likely to try to get in her pants, but she knew it would happen. That was one thing Daphne worried about extensively. She also missed her Harry at night, as she had gotten used to snuggling up to him at night and making love to him several times a week.

* * *

At the two year point in their employment at Gringotts, Harry and Daphne were moved to the same camp since they were going to be wed. The orders had come down from high, and both were pleased to get them, as Daphne had worked hard and earned her Healer Certification in a short time to fill a healer vacancy at Harry's camp. She still worked towards her potions mastery, but that was going to take several years anyway, as she had to perform original research to either modify a potion or create a new potion. And quite a few Journeymen in Potions never reached the Mastery stage due to the lack of quality in their work.

Daphne, by this time, had completed her animagus transformation, and happily pranced around the camp as a boar. The men stayed away from her after she had used her animagus form to knock a man down and crush his testicle after he had gone too far and placed his hands on her in an inappropriate place. She didn't get in trouble for that, but her boss had warned her that she should take care not to do that too much. But her reputation had been changed forever that day in the minds of men everywhere. Mrs. Smith was a woman not to be messed with.

It was always a laugh for Daphne when Harry had the odd visit to make love to her. He would come up to her and kiss her, making the men around him cringe in sympathy for what was about to happen to him. But when Daphne not only returned the kiss but drug him to her quarters for two days of almost non-stop love making, Harry was a celebrity for taking on the Bitch Boar and giving her an attitude adjustment, even if it lasted for the time Harry was with her.

Harry, on the other hand, was still working on his animagus form. He had gotten to the point where he could change his arms, legs, and eyes at the same time, but he couldn't make any more changes. There were a few feathers on his chest and back, but he couldn't change his torso into the phoenix body. It was almost impossible for him to do so, and contacting several tutors had not come across any answers for his problems. And he had to change the torso before he could change the head.

Daphne was sad that her Harry couldn't change into his animagus form, but she was glad he was able to enhance his eyesight with a partial transformation. The enhanced eyesight, when combined with his glasses, made it easier for him to stay alive while in the heavily cursed tombs that littered Egypt.

* * *

"Smith and Smith," one of the human supervisors said, as he stuck his head in the tent.

"Yes sir," Harry asked.

"You're wanted in the main tent," he said. "Immediately."

The two left their private tent, which was Harry's personal tent, and headed to the large tent that served as the office for the camp manager, Master Breaktooth. They had been working for Breaktooth for about a year, their third year as Gringotts employees.

They got to the tent and Harry called out.

"Sir, permission to enter?"

"Enter," the goblin said.

The two entered and the goblin looked them over for a moment as they stood, waiting for the usual invitation to sit down.

"I called you here to tell you that you are being reassigned," the goblin said. "I know you have only just gotten to this camp, Mrs. Smith, but this order came from up high. A representative of Gringotts-Worldwide is coming to discuss a few things with you, and you will meet them in our Cairo Branch. Your portkey leaves in an hour. You are to have all of your things packed and get back here within the hour."

"Yes sir," the two said.

"Now get to it."

They left the tent and quickly made their way back to their tent. Their travel bags were ready, and all they had to do was to use magic to fold the tent and place it in Harry's bag. Their bag also carried a few items they would use until they could get into their tent again.

Once everything was ready, the two went to the main tent and Breaktooth looked at them critically as he examined a document that was on his desk.

"This came for you, Smith. You're to read it, as the Vice President of Operations, Greenfist, will expect your comments on what he has for you."

"Yes sir," Harry said, accepting the document.

"This is the portkey. If it leaves without you at 19 hours, then you will have a lot of trouble. I will let you go to the employee common tent and leave from there."

Knowing they had been dismissed, the two Gringotts employees left for the tent. Harry opened the document and read it.

"What is it," Daphne asked, trying not to read over his shoulder.

"It's a new contract," he said. "They're offering us a new contract."

"What kind?"

"We're going to be sent to another camp in Egypt after our wedding, where I will serve as an Assistant Team Leader."

"Where at?"

"We're going to the Gaza Camp," Harry said.

"And my position?"

"The same. You're going to be at the Gaza Camp."

"It's the largest field camp in Egypt," Daphne said. "So that means that I can continue my potions studies and work as a healer. You'll be working as a curse-breaker."

Harry nodded. A curse-breaking team generally consisted of four people, a Master, a Journeyman, and two Apprentices. Harry was currently a Journeyman on the verge of being certified as a Master.

"Who is your team leader?"

"I don't know yet," Harry said. "But we will have to renegotiate our contracts."

"This time, we will ask for more money," Daphne said. "Gringotts made thousands of galleons off of your discoveries, letting you get a miniscule half a percent of the find. I want you to negotiate for five percent of the gold and copies of the knowledge."

Harry nodded. Getting five percent would be difficult for him, but it was possible to get. Gringotts would only give such a high value to one of their valued curse-breakers. The five percent would also mean that his base salary would remain the same, about three thousand galleons a year. A curse-breaker could make good money if their team made a lot of good finds. Most curse-breakers made anywhere from five to ten thousand galleons a year, with the best making over twenty thousand galleons in commission each year.

And breaking one set of curses to open one small room in a pyramid could take months of study and careful work. Harry's experience had been that the curses took about two or three weeks to study, and another three weeks to break. But that was for the easier curses that he was allowed to break and learn to reach harder and harder curses. And he had been one of the best on the team, probably due to his education and his sheer power. Having a lot of power was a boon for curse-breakers most of the time. And someone having a lot of power they could control was even better.

* * *

In Cairo, the two were escorted to meet with Greenfist. The goblin waited in the office of the Cairo branch president.

"Mr. and Mrs. Smith, it is nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, sir," Harry said, nodding to the goblin. The two stood with their hands clasped behind their back, the standard pose for reporting to a superior.

"Please, have a seat," the goblin said, after a moment to examine the two dressed in business casual robes. "I have come here because of your request to Ragnok," the goblin said. "We have arranged for the two of you to be wed in the Swiss Alps, the same location where your parents were wed, Miss Greengrass. Ragnok will officiate and your account managers will be assigned to witness this. This marriage will be legal according to Gringotts Laws but your Ministry of Magic will not recognize it due to your age and because they require other obligations for a legal marriage to take place.

"As you are time travelers, it will be within your best interests to have a public wedding after you return to your own time and when you are of age in your own time to please your government laws. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir," Harry said.

"Good. Furthermore, I am here to renegotiate your contract as a goblin friend. I do have copies of your original contracts, as they were sent with you. When goblin friends marry, it is our standard procedure to allow you to renegotiate a contract, as you must sign it after we combine your estates under Gringotts laws. The Estates will remain separately named for legal purposes until your official, Ministry-regulated wedding."

Daphne and Harry shared a look. This was their chance to get a better contract as goblin friends. They wouldn't request a time turner, of course, but they would try to find a way to get great fees as well as limit Gringotts' ability to gain control of their estates if they die without heirs.

The negotiations for the new goblin friend contract would take six weeks, and several intense meetings, but the two would get the contract they asked for: rates that were ten percent better than what normal wizards got, Gringotts would receive their estate if there was no will or magical heirs or if Gringotts was left money in the will, and they would have the opportunity to be employed by Gringotts at their discretion.

Their new employment contracts were also increased slightly. Harry would receive the normal base pay for his years of experience, and he would also receive three percent of any find as well as copies of any books and writing that he helped discover. He also had to sign an agreement to not disclose Gringotts Curse-breaking procedures and not to compete directly with Gringotts for a period of ten years after his employment with Gringotts ended. Daphne would receive a pay raise each year, which was normal for a healer and potions master, as the camps had healers who served in both jobs to save money overall. There was not enough work for a Potions Master at every camp, so it was necessary for the healer to have the necessary qualifications to make the potions they would need for their patients.

* * *

After the negotiations were ended, Harry and Daphne traveled to the Swiss Alps to get married. The wedding was a simple affair, and they wore traditional wedding robes, as Daphne's family required. Since this was a merger between the Greengrass and Potter families, Greenfist would witness the wedding for Gringotts.

The wedding was short, but Harry and Daphne enjoyed it, as, at the end, they flashed gold, symbolizing their new bond for life. They had used the magical ceremony, and it wouldn't allow for divorce at all. They were bonded for life, though they could live separately, and even have lovers on the side, if that was what they wanted.

But Harry knew he wouldn't need extra lovers. He had Fleur, and Daphne had promised that she would let him include a few more women, either for the long term, or for one night threesomes. But she had to approve of them.

After a month-long honeymoon spent traveling in South America, they returned to Egypt to continue their duties, this time as a magically married couple instead of just acting as a married couple.

* * *

When Harry got to Egypt, he found that his team leader was Master Curse-breaker Blackhand, the most revered curse-breaker in all of Gringotts. Surprisingly, the only apprentice assigned to their team was a recent Hogwarts Graduate and new hire named Bill Weasley. Harry smirked as he recognized Bill, and knew that this would be fun. But Bill wouldn't know it was Harry until later.

Over the next several years, Harry and Daphne worked hard. Harry was making thousands of galleons off of his commissions as a curse-breaker, and he averaged about thirty thousand galleons a year, thanks to the finds he and Bill were able to make for Gringotts. When Blackhand was promoted to Site Manager, Harry and Bill were made the only non-goblin curse-breaking team, and they continued to rake in the galleons.

As team leader, Harry received an extra one percent of the find. And he received his mastery from Gringotts as well as the ICW, which recognized the mastery certification. This made his base pay increase to five thousand galleons a year, plus commission.

Daphne completed her mastery in potions, and she received a pay raise as well.

In 1992, they were sent to North America so Harry could work as a curse-breaker and a warding specialist. Daphne worked in the New York branch of Gringotts as a healer and potions master while Harry was based out of the New York branch to work on projects.

He either worked on checking the wards over the vaults, breaking curses on dark items brought in, or on projects customers hired Gringotts to do. With his increasing experience and knowledge, Harry was often tasked to work for the American Department of Magical Affairs, where he worked as a contractor.

Daphne loved that, as Harry was able to learn a lot more while working for the Americans to support their Law Enforcement Division. Legally, instead of working for Gringotts, Harry worked for one of their well-disguised subsidiaries, North American Curse-breaking Associates. The business also provided warding for hire, but that wasn't Harry's job.

He often taught the basics of both subjects to the American equivalent of Aurors and Unspeakables, as they needed to know for their jobs. And he was often in the field, traveling all over America to reinforce wards over National Security Areas such as the White House or Nuclear Missile Silos. As a British National, he was allowed to do this work since he could swear a non-disclosure oath not to reveal the wards he placed or where he placed them.

Doing this work made Harry learn a lot about how modern technology interfaced with magic. During his contract work for the Americans, he received a post-graduate certificate in Technomagic, which was the application of magic to modern technology, and vice versa.

Finally, in May of 1995, Harry and Daphne were released from their Gringotts employment contracts to prepare for their return to their own time, and to help them readjust to England after being absent for ten years.

Overall, their employment with Gringotts had been lucrative, especially for Harry. He had averaged fifteen thousand galleons per year for the eight years as a Gringotts employee. About one percent of that had been paid in income taxes to the British Ministry of Magic since he was a British Citizen. Another half a percent had been paid to the Veela Nation since he was a citizen there as well.

And he had finally completed his animagus transformation about six months previously when he had come across another phoenix animagus who taught him a few tricks to make the transformation easier. It had turned out that Harry had been trying to force his magic to change him when it should have been a more subtle approach to will his magic to change instead of forcing it to happen.

He had happily learned how to use his animagus form from his fellow animagus, and Daphne was pleased to have a new way to travel since he had mastered flash traveling with a passenger.

* * *

So, after their time in America and working for Gringotts had come to an end, the happy couple decided to spend the next month touring the magical areas of Eastern Europe, as they hadn't been there before. This would allow them to send out feelers to find out what was going on, and Eastern Europe was known as a hotbed for blood-purists, as they got a lot of support in that area. And there was the warding contract Harry had gotten through Gringotts: he was going to help ward the dragon sanctuary in Romania.

After checking in through customs in Romania, the couple made their way for the hotel for a night of love making and rest. After all, they would have to give this up when they returned to Hogwarts.


	11. Romanian Contract

Harry sighed as he looked around the Dragon Preserve. This was not his type of work. At least Daphne was enjoying her work helping the Preserve's Potions Mistress do her work. The two were quite a pair, and had been for the past weeks since Harry and Daphne had arrived.

Harry was currently walking with a team of dragon handlers and warding experts, as they had to go into the preserve itself with the ferocious beasts to check on the ward stones that held the magic of the entire wards. If these stones went down, then the entire preserve would be without wards, meaning the dragons could leave and the Muggles would be able to see the dragons.

This was the last part of the warding for Harry, and this entire contract would be worth thirty thousand galleons for Harry alone, not including the rest of the warding team, most of whom were employed full time by the owners of the preserve.

As they approached the warding stone, Harry froze as he felt a tremendous source of magic. He waved his hand and the entourage stopped, with some of the warders, mostly those hired through other sources, nervously looking around.

"What's going on," Charlie Weasley, one of the escorting handlers, asked.

"Charlie," Harry said. "Why is there a lot of ancient magic?"

"Ancient Magic?" Charlie asked, frowning. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"It does feel like a pyramid," one of the warders said, looking around. "It's not Egyptian Magic, but something more powerful."

"Something that predates Ancient Egyptian Wards," Harry said, as he looked around with his mage sight. He extended his senses, finding out that his animagus form was the reason he had mage sense. He closed his eyes and extended his aura until it was in the near visible range. If he had his eyes open, he would have seen the Dragon Handlers and the other warders look at him in awe for the sheer amount of magic pouring off of him.

With his eyes closed, he could sense magic much better. It was as if he had another set of eyes. Strangely, he could see the landscape's magic, and could see the sources of radiating magic. He turned until he found the source of the magic. It was a cave in the mountains.

"What's that cave," Harry asked.

"There are no caves there," Charlie said. "The warding stones are in that cave," he added, pointing in a direction that was ten degrees east of where Harry currently looked.

"There's a major source of magic if it's not a cave," Harry said. "But with my experience, it's a hidden place."

"How," one of the warders said. "How in the name of Merlin can you do that, James?"

"It's a secret," Harry said, with a smirk. "I want to examine it after we check the warding stones."

"Do you think it's dangerous to leave the source of magic there?"

"No. It has been there for several centuries at the least," Harry said. "It wasn't made recently, and it is very powerful."

"Why wouldn't we feel it," Charlie asked. "We come through here all the time when handling dragons."

"I don't know," Harry said. "But you may not be in tune with this type of magic. I can almost assure you anyone who has gone to Egypt to break curses, such as your brother Bill, would be able to sense this magic. Without that kind of sense, you don't make it a year, much less make it to team leader like your brother did."

The redhead shrugged his shoulders, and Harry continued on, following Charlie to the small cave that held the central warding stone. Harry stopped at the entrance to the cave and took out his wand. He cast several detection spells to be safe and he nodded in satisfaction when the results came to him. The cave was protected by several wards like the plans indicated. These wards would be temporarily disabled while they went in to check the primary warding stone with the Preserve's Chief Warding specialist, a former Gringotts Curse-breaker.

Two hours later, the warding job done, Harry and Charlie headed toward the cave. The others went back to start the beer drinking early.

"I've heard quite a bit about you from my brother," Charlie said. "He said that you helped him learn curse-breaking as a team leader."

"Yes," Harry said. "He's a great guy, though sometimes can't hold his drink."

"What do you mean? We Weasleys can always hold our drink."

"Well, he had the bad idea to flirt with my wife," Harry said, with a raised eyebrow. "Wondering hands left him in the hospital in Cairo for about a week when she got done with her punishment."

"You didn't do anything?"

"And risk being punished myself? No thank you," Harry said, as his alert eyes scanned the area. "Wait here."

Charlie nodded and turned his attention away from the mountain. They were in a safer area of the preserve, but there were still dragons who could make it in this area if they really wanted to. They were rarely seen here, but it didn't mean one wouldn't try to find them.

While Charlie watched for dragons, Harry used his wand to get a feel for the magic. He just held his wand out and let his senses take over. Sometimes, the wand was a good conduit of magical energies from the environment. It was one of the methods Harry chose to use since he had good magic senses. His self-preservation wouldn't allow him to cast spells or even touch an area with unknown magic until he was sure it was safe to touch.

With a practiced eye for detail, Harry slowly memorized what his senses were telling him. With magic this powerful, there was no need to get hasty and try to hurry through something. This could easily take weeks or months to figure out a safe way of breaking the curse.

Harry didn't have months. He only had three weeks before he had to be in London. And after that, there would be no way in hell he could escape from the watchful eye of the Order of the Phoenix, or what remained of it. And Molly Weasley would, no doubt, attempt to corral him in a place she deemed safe and take over ordering him around like Dumbledore used to do.

An independent Harry would not stand for it, and he would have to speak with Sirius and Arthur Weasley about controlling Molly's authoritative urges so that she realized that Harry wasn't one of her children she could order around.

But that wasn't now, and Harry returned his full focus and thoughts onto the matter at hand. When he opened his eyes, he withdrew his notebook and the miniature dictation quill. This quill was enchanted to read his thoughts, and only his thoughts, so he could write down notes on things without speaking.

He touched his wand to the small notebook and then began to replay his thoughts and observations about the magic. When he was done, he closed the notebook and placed it back in his pocket, done for now.

"What was that," Charlie asked, having seen his notebook.

"That's my warding notebook," Harry explained. "I use it to write down my ideas for warding."

"Why didn't you use a quill?"

Harry smiled.

"It's got an auto quill that is enchanted to work off of my thoughts when my wand activates it," Harry said. "I'm done for now," Harry said. "Let's get back to camp."

"Aren't you going to enter it?"

"You never enter a new area until you've had time to study it," Harry said. "Definitely not when dealing with powerful ancient magic like this. I want to consult a few of my notes and a few books I've found during my time as a curse-breaker."

"When do you think you can enter it?"

"It could be quite a while," Harry said. "My wife and I have appointments in the West we cannot miss, and I won't be around after August 30th."

Charlie nodded.

* * *

Over the next week, Harry studies his notes, books on ancient magic, and went back to study the area. It had garnered quite a bit of interest, and Harry was told that he would be paid handsomely if he could open the area and find out what was in it.

Several of the others who had been hired refused to stay beyond this just to study some ancient magic when they didn't know if it held anything of value. Harry, on the other hand, knew that something valuable was there, even if it wasn't gold or jewels. Sometimes, knowledge was a value all its own, and he had come to love learning.

And something with these powerful wards was very important in the scheme of things.

So far, he'd narrowed down the wards of a type that Merlin was thought to have used. There were few examples of wards that came from Atlantis, and Harry suspected this was one such ward. He had never seen one, of course, but he was familiar with the magic type. It was a defensive ward for sure, as defensive wards had a similar feel.

Each type of magic had a distinct feel. But each spell could feel slightly different in another area of the world due to the way magic flowed through the Earth's crust and atmosphere. Older magic had a different feel than younger magic, and it wasn't known if that was because of the construct of the magic or the age of the magic.

At night, when he wasn't studying the magic, Harry was studying his wife's lovely body, and enjoying ravishing it. She enjoyed it as well, and she knew he had a potentially great find: he'd always have more endurance when he was excited about something he was studying. It was strange that way, but Daphne loved it when he was breaking curses or studying warding. His excitement would lead to fantastic love making when he was around her. Not to mention she excited him that way quite a bit too.

* * *

With a week to go, Harry felt he was ready to try to enter the ward. He felt that it was an intent-based ward, and he wanted to test it out. Daphne insisted that she go along with him, just in case. And she lugged a bag full of potions and other medical supplies.

The dragon handlers and other warders went with them to protect Harry as he worked, and to assist him when possible.

At the ward site, Harry, for some reason, held out his hand and touched the magic, to the shock of everyone else. He had always said that it was dangerous to just touch magic, and Daphne was ready to ear bash her husband for his stupidity, should he survive.

But they were shocked into silence when a door shimmered into being in front of where Harry stood. The young man examined the door closely and then disappeared inside it. The door shimmered closed again, making Daphne swear.

The other curse-breakers attempted to do what Harry did, but they were thrown away from the area. They weren't hurt, but were quite shaken up at the negative feelings the wards gave them.

It was three hours before Harry returned. And during those three hours, Daphne was biting her nails and planning on kissing her husband before she bashed his ears for making her worry so much.

* * *

When Harry felt the door open, he felt his magic come into contact with the magic of the ward. The ward seem to think he was an old friend, and he entered the door after seeing something on a table. He turned when the door shimmered shut, and looked around while his wand was pointed at the ground, in a ready position, yet not in a threatening position until he knew what he was dealing with.

He closed his eyes to let his senses out, and the magic had an entirely different feel than it did earlier. It no longer was potentially dangerous. It was if this magic was an old friend. Harry smiled. To him, magic was an old friend. He didn't try to force magic to do anything, nor did he think magic served him.

Magic and wizards were mutually supportive. Wizards supported and protected magic, while magic supported and protected wizards when necessary.

Harry opened his eyes and continued to slowly move forward. He reached the table and saw a book was on it. The book was laid in the center of the table, almost as if it was an altar of some sort. The table was plain, and there were no other items in the cave. And he knew the cave was man-made centuries ago.

Instead of touching the book, he held his hand out over it to test to see if it was cursed. The book held powerful magic, but it wasn't anything that was dangerous. It was as if the magic recognized Harry as the proper owner of the book.

Surprisingly, the book, upon inspection, seemed to be well-kept. The binding and parchment made it quite old, possibly dating back to the Founders of Hogwarts or even before, from Harry's practiced eye. On a whim, he opened the first page of the book.

He read the first page and was shocked. He shook his head to clear it and then read the first page again.

_Dear Reader,_

_This book is a book of great power. It contains a list of all of the magic I have managed to write down before my death. Magic users, as I write this, are slowly dumbing down magic and outlawing spells of great power they cannot use. The contents of this book contains many spells that are illegal in my day. _

_This book is in a protected place, and I suggest that you leave it, as only those pure of intent and pure of heart may enter. Only those with the ancient magical abilities may even open this book. Currently, only those shifters with a phoenix form are powerful enough to use this magic._

_Anyone who gains a phoenix form has the ability to use ancient magic as my ancestors used before an evil wizard and their greed destroyed my ancient homeland of Atlantis. To assist you in studying this book, you should make a copy and key it to yourself using the spell on the next page. Once that is done, leave this cave and anyone who witnessed you enter the cave shall forget you entered it unless you can trust them with your secret. _

_Please study and use this magic well. _

_May Magic Continue to serve you well and you serve her._

_Merlin_

Harry was definitely in shock now. This was a book written by Merlin himself. He turned the page and spent some time studying the spell on the page. The next three pages taught him how to use a wand to use the spell, and how to properly use the spell to copy the book. It was the only spell that could get through the ancient protections on this book and many more, giving Harry an idea of how to copy books that he wanted from Hogwarts.

After all, with his experience and education, Hogwarts would be easy for him, and he would have plenty of spare time to study things that caught his interest. Things such as Ancient Magic.

With an expert wave of his wand, Harry had a copy of the book. This copy looked like a book directly from a printer, and he grinned. This would be a great way of giving him copies of old books to protect them. And the spell could be used on any form of written record, making an exact copy of it in book form. If he could modify this spell, then archivists and those who study magical ruins would be able to copy entire walls with a wave of their wand and then have a concise book to read.

Harry got caught up in reading the book that he realized three hours had passed.

"Shit," he muttered. "Daphne's going to kill me."

With that, he pocketed the book and exited the cave. The door shimmered and disappeared. From the looks on everyone's faces, all but Daphne, they had forgotten what happened.

"What happened," she whispered to him. "They don't remember."

"I'll tell you later," Harry said. "There was an amazing find. I'll keep it for us."

Daphne grinned, and, soon, they were on their way back to the main camp, where the warders and dragon handlers were cursing at the lack of a find. To them, it had turned out to be nothing but magic bleeding off from a ley line they had not known of before.

* * *

In their tent, Daphne looked at the book in shock. She could read the book, and the note had changed to tell her that she could only read and study the book, not use the magic. At least not use it at this time. With Harry's help, Daphne would begin to change the spells and rediscover ancient spells, at least weaker ones, that made certain things much easier. It was a task the Slytherin very much wanted to do. Not to mention it would make them famous for rediscovering and modifying ancient spells so they could be used by the common wizard.

With a laugh, Daphne looked up at her husband, who was engrossed in his own copy of the book.

"Harry?"

"Yes dear?"

"You know, Granger would probably have multiple orgasms if you let her even see this book."

"I know," Harry said, chuckling. "But she can't see it. I'll let her in on a few books I've gathered over the years."

"The ones that aren't family books?"

"Yes," Harry said. "And this is…"

"A Family Secret," Daphne said, together with Harry. With both of them saying it together, magic flashed to recognize the command by the Lord and Lady of the House, and the book was named a Potter-Greengrass Family secret. That meant no non-family member could see it without the joint permission of Harry and Daphne.

Daphne and Harry shared a look, and the books were shut gently and placed on tables right before the two lunged at each other in giddiness over the book. Surprisingly, the two could become excited at things such as seeing rare tomes and it led to a very active sex life, especially after Harry had discovered a parseltongue book covering sex magic they could do.

* * *

For the next three days, those who wondered by the Smiths' tent muttered 'lucky bastard' or things like that. Harry and Daphne hadn't been seen for three days and those who wondered by could hear loud moaning, religious epithets, various swear words, and other loud noises of joy.

Charlie Weasley was one of those, and he frowned as he thought about this. The couple was quite active, and he was quite jealous of James, who was a good friend of both Bill and himself. Charlie had also heard about how a Mr. Smith had spent a day in Diagon Alley and destroyed a Death Eater hunter-killer team using rare magic. Obviously, to him, it was this very man, as he and his wife had disappeared for a couple of days around the time the Death Eater attack had occurred.

With that knowledge in mind, Charlie wanted to ask him about what he was doing and why he did that to the Death Eaters. And, of course, he would send word that the man and his wife were staying in Romania. But then there was the deal with Dumbledore. Charlie wasn't so sure about how to deal with things now that Dumbledore was gone.

The Order of the Phoenix had essentially collapsed, though there were a few like McGonagall and Flitwick who continued to organize people to watch over certain areas. Without the Aurors, it was impossible to get a good force for anything, as Mundungus Fletcher had been booted from the Black Manor for attempting to steal things.

Charlie knew that, and he knew that his job was important in Romania. He would want to help out when he could, but it was quite impossible for him to do much while in Romania. The best he could do was to keep an ear open for how the locals and other dragon handlers viewed the war.

Most of them didn't like Voldemort at all, but didn't want to get actively involved in the fight in England. But if it came here, Charlie knew that there would be quite a few who would defend the Dragons. There were a handful here who Charlie didn't trust at all, as they seemed to be blood purists.

As he entered his post for the day, Charlie shook his head to clear it. It was dangerous to have his mind on something else.

* * *

When Harry and Daphne showed their faces, both looked quite satisfied. The couple had come out the day before they were returning to Western Europe, and they went to the dining hall to eat with the dragon handlers one last time.

Charlie smiled at his friend as he sat down.

"So, how was your break?"

"It was brilliant," Daphne said, with a bright smile. "James has the best endurance I have ever heard of and he's even shagged two pureblood Veela into a stupor before. In one night."

Charlie looked at him incredulously.

Daphne saw Harry smile and nod.

"It's true," he said. "I would swear an oath on it."

Charlie's eyes went wide, as did those of the others who heard it. And the male dragon handlers had a new role model.

"And how long did he last in the past few days," one of the more ribald men asked.

"He lasted long enough to give me multiple…."

Most knew what Daphne was going to say, but her words were drowned out by an explosion. Everyone jumped up, wands in hand, to see what was going on.

Harry immediately extended his senses with his eyes open. It wasn't as accurate, but it was safer for him.

"Death Eaters," Harry hissed. "And the Dark Bastard is with them."

A shiver of fear went down the spines of the Dragon Handlers as a group of Death Eaters burst into the room, only to have their remaining parts sprayed onto their friends and the walls when Harry and Daphne unleashed a hail of blasting spells.

The other Death Eaters were shocked, but one of them recognized Harry immediately.

"It's Smith!" he yelled. "AVADA…"

Before he could finish, the man gurgled as he had a nice hole in his throat from Daphne's wand.

"Do not attack my husband," Daphne hissed, in an angry voice.

With that, the two went toward the Death Eaters, firing off a barrage of spells that would take several curse-breakers a week to identify and remove from certain, still living, Death Eaters.

Twenty minutes later, all of the Death Eaters were down for the count. Most of them were dead, and Voldemort himself had fled when James had hit him with a bone breaker, destroying his right arm and removing his wand hand with a cutting spell. James bent down and took the wand for safe keeping, knowing it was a nice thing to have.

The Dragon Handlers, few of whom got injured in the fight, looked at Harry and Daphne with awe. Charlie knew he had a report to send in to his brother and the Order of the Phoenix, as Moody had told them to report any intelligence to the Order so it would be passed on to Sirius, who was leading the search for Death Eaters.

None of the dead or captured Death Eaters were Inner Circle Members. Those had positively fled when Voldemort had been wounded and used his emergency portkey.

When the local authorities arrived, the Law Enforcement boss looked at Harry and Daphne with a nod after hearing what they had done.

"Good job," the man said, in heavily accented English.

"Thank you," Harry said, in slightly accented Romanian. The man smiled at Harry and started to question him in his native language.

Once the interviews were completed, Harry and Daphne knew they had to leave. It was time for them to leave, and they would use the goblin portkey to get to England.

"Charlie?"

"Yes James?"

"If you report this to your friends in the Order of the Phoenix, let them know that I will not work for a bunch of housewives and gossips. If they want my help, then they will arrange for me to have Auror status in the UK. Oh, by the way, your occlumency shields aren't worth shit."

With that, Harry and Daphne left a shocked Charlie Weasley standing at the portkey point.

* * *

Upon arriving in England, Harry and Daphne sighed with relief. They could become themselves again and Harry took out another portkey, holding it out to Daphne. This one would take them to one of the houses the goblins purchased for them in Scotland.

Several portkeys later, they were in the house and resting after a long battle.

* * *

That night, the Order of the Phoenix, or what was left of it, met with Charlie, Bill, and the Aurors at Grimmauld Place. They were going to discuss the latest information that Charlie had said he wanted to give them.

"Weasley, what is it you wanted to tell us," Moody asked.

"As you know," Charlie began. "Mr. and Mrs. Smith have been working at the Romanian Dragon Preserve. Mr. Smith is an expert curse-breaker and warder, and former Gringotts Employee. Mrs. Smith is a Healer and Potions Master. Both of them were in Egypt and Mr. Smith was Bill's team leader for at least a year."

Bill nodded.

"Why didn't you let us know this earlier," Sirius asked Bill.

"I didn't think about it," Bill said, sheepishly. And he didn't want to admit that he was too busy admiring Fleur's nice bum.

"This information would have been useful when we were trying to figure this Mr. Smith out," Moody said. "Ok, Weasley, go on."

"Well, Mr. Smith is the best warder I've ever seen. And he has magic senses that I've never seen a human have before. Or at least one I can verify. He was able to sense a magical ley line that none of the dragon handlers, in the decades of work there, have found. Further, he was able to detect wards quite easily and charge them up, as well as repair them."

"What happened today, Weasley?"

Charlie snorted. "Mr. and Mrs. Smith seemed to want some time alone, so they sequestered themselves for three days in their tent. Today, they came out to eat dinner with us.

"During dinner, we heard an explosion and Mr. Smith sensed Death Eaters and You-Know-Who were there. Before the Death Eaters could come in and attack us, Mr. and Mrs. Smith hit them with all sorts of blasting spells, killing five and fatally wounding six before anyone knew what they were doing.

"A short duel later, and ten more Death Eaters lay dead or dying, and four more were seriously wounded. The Inner Circle Death Eaters were around You-Know-Who, and he attacked them. He couldn't stand up to Mr. Smith, who hit him with a bone breaker and also cut off his wand hand. Mr. Smith has custody of You-Know-Who's wand."

The shock in the room was palpable. Before Sirius could say something about destroying evidence, a black phoenix appeared.

"A Royal Phoenix," Charlie said, in awe, as the phoenix trilled to greet Fawkes, who had arrived at the meeting.

The phoenix stopped in front of Sirius and held out a letter, as well as a small package. Sirius checked the package with spells and then opened it. A wand fell out as he read the letter.

"This is You-Know-Who's wand," Sirius said. "The strange thing, this letter is in Harry's hand writing. It seems he has been training under the direction of Mr. and Mrs. Smith all summer."

"What is in the bottle," Molly Weasley asked.

Moody took one look at it.

"It's a copy of a memory," the grizzled Auror said. "Black, what does the letter say?"

"This memory contains Mr. Smith's view of the battle. The view his wife said was not different and they decided to send this one to me so it could help me with the investigation."

"We should watch…"

"This is evidence," Sirius said, shaking his head. "Moody and I will examine it and then we will decide who gets to see it. I'm sure Minister Bones will need to see it tomorrow, and I want to prepare for her. And I will take this wand in for forensics testing. Then we will destroy it."

"Shouldn't Harry destroy it," Tonks asked. "After all, he did lose his parents."

"Lass," Moody said. "We don't want to risk a Death Eater getting their hands on the wand. So we will do the testing right here and I will go and get Ollivander for the correct identification of the owner of the wand. Obviously, if it is You-Know-Who's wand, then he will be able to sense it."

There were nods of acceptance, and the Royal Phoenix disappeared, his job done. Fawkes also disappeared, going to stay with the Royal Phoenix.


	12. Telling Sirius

**AN: Thank you for those of you who have reviewed and read the story. Your comments are definitely appreciated.**

Minister of Magic Amelia Bones grunted when she saw the face of Sirius Black in her office first thing. This was the usual for her, and he briefed her every morning about Death Eater activity as well as the Ministry's own investigation into said Death Eater activity.

This morning, when she saw Sirius with a pensieve, a wand, and a sealed report, she took note.

"What happened last night, Sirius?"

"Minister…"

"Call me Amelia," the woman said, as she poured herself a cup of steaming tea.

"Amelia, Mr. Smith was at it again yesterday. You heard about the attack in Romania?"

The Minister nodded as she sipped her tea.

"Last night, Mr. Smith sent me a copy of his memory of the event as well as Voldemort's wand."

"His wand," Amelia choked. "That's You-Know-Who's wand?"

"It is," Sirius said. "We have already run forensics on it, and Mr. Ollivander has agreed that this wand belongs to Voldemort, or Tom Riddle, the name he went by when he purchased the wand. Today, I want to destroy the wand before someone gets it in their mind to steal it."

"Very well. Let's destroy it. But I want witnesses. I want Moody, Shacklebolt, and Tonks here to witness the destruction of the wand."

"We can do that after we conclude our meeting," Sirius said. "First, this is a copy of our report on the attack in Romania. We have various eyewitness accounts, and the Romanian Ministry has sent in their own investigative notes on the matter."

"And their conclusion?"

"It was a clear cut case of self-defense for Mr. and Mrs. Smith," the animagus said. "I also have a clear reference that Mr. and Mrs. Smith are former Gringotts employees. Bill Weasley used to work with Mr. smith in Egypt as a curse-breaker. Mr. Smith was his team leader and has a Mastery in Curse-breaking, a Mastery in Warding, and a Mastery in Combat Magic, with his education at the Merlin Academy of Magic. His wife, Rose Smith, is a fully certified healer and potions mistress. She, too, graduated from the Merlin Academy, and had her Journeyman's in Potions upon graduation.

"The two of them are credited with this list of Death Eaters captured, Dead or Alive."

Amelia went over the list. There were no names that were familiar to her as being Death Eaters.

"New recruits?"

"We believe so," Sirius said. "For the most part. There were no Inner Circle Death Eaters captured or killed as far as we know. Some were wounded when I looked at the memory."

"Let me see the memory. How long is it?"

"Less than five minutes from start to finish," Sirius said. "And we have no idea why the Death Eaters were there, as nothing was missing, and they did not penetrate the Main Dragon Compound before they were defeated."

Once Amelia finished the memory, she nodded.

"That's a great skill to have. I wish I could get those two to work for me as Aurors. They're more than capable of hunting down any level of Dark Wizard from what I've seen. And the magic they used is incredible. I don't think I've seen anyone other than Albus or You-Know-Who to use silent magic in that way."

"I agree," Sirius said. "What do you want to do about this?"

"I say we reward them," she said. "Send them a combined check for the bounties on the heads of the Death Eaters. That's a thousand galleons a head for the underlings."

Sirius nodded and made a note.

"I will have it done, Amelia."

"Good," the woman said. "Is there anything else going on?"

"We have no other intelligence, other than the standard rumors of recruiting in various countries around the world. The Americans are cracking down on the extremists in their country after a terror attack they managed to disguise as an accident."

"What happened?"

"An airplane went down, killing over three hundred," Sirius said, sadly. "It was determined that a group of magical terrorists attempted to hijack the aircraft, but the aircraft's electronics failed and the terrorists apparated off of the airplane before leaving it to go down. The pilots were stunned and the aircraft flew into the ground with all aboard."

"Make a note to offer the Americans any intelligence we have on the perpetrators," Amelia said. "They're offering us evidence on the Death Eaters, so we should reciprocate."

"I will do that when I meet with the American Law Enforcement Liaison today."

The Minister nodded, and then her morning briefing went on.

* * *

When Harry awoke, he saw Daphne lying peacefully in the bed. He smiled at her sleeping form and knew that he wanted to do this many more times. But with the two of them going back to Hogwarts, primarily to keep up appearances, they wouldn't be able to wake up in the same bed for quite a while. At least Harry would be able to have Fleur with him, as she was one of his concubines. Daphne didn't mind too much. She just told Harry that she had to approve every girl he had something going on with.

But for Harry, all he needed was Daphne. He wouldn't be seeking to add any more girls as concubines. And if Fleur wanted to be released from the contract, he would do so.

Daphne moved around and Harry looked over at her as her beautiful eyes opened.

"Good morning," Harry said to her.

"Good morning," Daphne said, with a sleepy smile on her face. "Are we ready to face the music yet?"

"Not yet," Harry said. "I told Sirius we would meet him at the Ministry for lunch."

"Good," Daphne said. "It gives us time to get more acquainted with each other."

Harry smiled at Daphne and she held out her arms to him.

* * *

At lunch, Harry and Daphne were dressed in normal clothes. Their runic bracelets were in their pockets, just in case, and they had decided to have them with them at all times. Their things were in their pockets, as Harry wanted to keep his safe house hidden from everyone. If people knew of it, then it wouldn't be a safe house. And he didn't trust many people with his life or the life of his wife. Of course, he would give Fleur the secret of the house so she could get there if she had to, or even if she wanted to.

No one else would know the secret right now, unless Harry decided it was in their best interests to let Sirius know so he could get into the house. After all, Harry had heard rumors that the old Black Manor was under the Fidelius Charm. He wondered where the rumors had started, but decided to let Sirius know about the rumors so he could take care of it. If there were rumors, then people who remembered the nearby locations of the manor would be able to find it eventually.

Harry knew that because the Ancient Egyptians often used their version of the Fidelius Charm to hide things in tombs. And Harry was able to deduct the location of the hidden areas. It was what made him such a good curse-breaker.

When they got to the Ministry, they waited at the entrance for Sirius. They didn't need to get into the deep part of the Ministry for meeting Sirius.

While waiting, Harry and Daphne stood in an alert posture, and Harry noted several Aurors standing guard at the entrance. Some of them looked his way, and Harry felt it was because he was famous, and because the papers had mentioned he was missing.

Harry saw Sirius coming up and the man grinned upon seeing his godson.

"It's good to see you, Harry."

"You too, Sirius," Harry said. "May I introduce you to my fiancé, Daphne?"

Sirius started a hacking cough as Daphne gave Harry a sly grin.

"Fiancé," Sirius asked.

"Yes," Daphne said, holding up her left hand with the ring. "We decided it was easier for us to do this rather than let some stuck up pureblood use the old laws to claim me and my family estate."

"I see," Sirius said, looking Daphne over. "Are you aware that…"

"Yes, we're aware the press will find out," Daphne said, shrugging. "And Harry and I purchased the _Daily Prophet_ and I already own _Witch Weekly_, so I'm sure the coverage will be favorable and not filled with lies. Either that or my solicitor will have a fun time making more money. He works off of commission and he really knows his laws against libel and slander."

Sirius gave a barking laugh as the reporters nearby seemed to shrink a bit. It was an obvious warning shot across the bow for the press.

"Let's get out of here," Sirius suggested, holding out a portkey.

Harry nodded and took the portkey. Daphne held her hand out as well, and they disappeared from the Ministry of Magic lobby.

Upon landing, Harry looked around and found they were in the Shrieking Shack. Sirius grinned.

"I'm not stupid," he said. "But let's eat dinner with Madam Rosmerta. She has a private room ready for us."

"I didn't think she had private rooms," Harry said.

"The Hogwarts students don't get them," Sirius said. "Besides, I've been one of her better customers."

Harry smirked as they saw Fleur.

"Hello, Fleur."

"Hello, Harry," the Veela said, with a bright grin. "Going for lunch?"

"Yup," Daphne said. "Join us."

"Sure," Fleur said, with a smile. "Is that a…"

"Engagement ring? Yes," Daphne said, holding up her left hand.

Fleur grinned at Harry and then looked closer at the ring.

"Well," She said. "How does that affect my status?"

"You can continue to remain as Harry's concubine as long as you wand," Daphne said.

Sirius and another man nearby started to cough from the shock. Sirius looked at them wide eyes.

"You mean…"

Fleur held up the traditional concubine choker, complete with the Potter Crest.

"I did this so those fools here wouldn't use the old laws to claim me," Fleur said, with a wink toward Sirius. Sirius smiled and nodded. He also realized there was a large chance that Fleur had done that just because she wanted to be with Harry one way or another. From looking at Daphne, it was obvious to her as well.

As for Harry, he seemed slightly oblivious to everything, and it wasn't because of the Veela Charm.

"Let's go eat," Sirius said.

They were soon in the Three Broomsticks and had the meal. Sirius put up privacy charms and Harry put up a few more to Sirius' raised eyebrow.

"Sirius, Fleur, I need to tell you a few things. A few Potter Family secrets."

"I, Sirius Orion Black, swear on my magic and life that I will not betray the Potter Family Secrets," he said.

Fleur nodded and held up the choker.

"The Family Magic will hold me to it anyway," She said.

"The first secret is that Daphne and I aren't just engaged."

"We're married," Daphne said, with a bright smile.

"Married," Sirius choked.

"Magically," Harry added. "But not legally."

"Ah," Sirius said. "Who officiated at the wedding?"

"Greenfist."

"The President of Gringotts-Worldwide?"

"Yes," Harry said. "Except he was the Vice President at the time."

"How?"

"You used time travel," Fleur said. "Isn't that illegal?"

"We used the Goblin Nation's time chamber," Harry explained. "It's not illegal, but its frowned upon."

"You're right," Sirius said. "What did you do?"

"I think if I told you that my nickname during this is James Smith?"

"And I'm Rose Smith?"

Sirius looked at them wide eyed and then he gave a hearty laugh.

"You pranked the entire world, Harry," he said. "The Aurors are looking for someone named Mr. Smith to question about several incidents."

"Well, Mr. Smith is a legal identity," Harry said. "But Sirius, you can see why I need this to be kept a secret."

"Yes I do, but I am also in charge of interviewing Mr. Smith when we find him."

Harry smiled.

"Then we can arrange for you to speak with us this evening at an undisclosed location for our protection."

"I like that idea," Sirius said. "Now what else happened?"

Harry and Daphne explained everything that happened to them and they did during their time in the past. Sirius and Fleur were amazed and both thought it was a good joke.

"At least I know you'll be able to pass your OWLs," Sirius said. "And you should talk to the Headmistress about taking the other OWLs."

"Maybe," Harry said. "I won't enter into the classes, as I don't think that will be allowed. But I'm sure that we can get me dispensation to take all twelve OWLs."

"Me too," Daphne said. "At least all of the OWLs but Divination. It's such a wooly subject."

"How's Dumbledore," Harry asked.

Sirius's face lost the smile.

"He's not doing too well," Sirius said. "He's suffering through withdrawal of his medications, as the healers had to wean him off of nearly lethal doses."

"I have a potion that can help," Daphne said. "Harry and I discovered it in a book we found."

Harry nodded after Daphne gave him a look.

"Go on," Fleur said. "What is the potion?"

"It seems to be a less addictive version of the mind enhancing potion," Daphne said. "The same potion that is often given for many mind ailments. This potion doesn't require as much either, making it cheaper as well."

Fleur nodded.

"Then we should send it to them at St. Mungos," Sirius suggested.

"They won't get the recipe because it is a family secret," Harry said.

"I am willing to brew a few batches of the potion," Daphne said. "It won't take more than a few hours to brew a batch. And Harry is good enough to help me. He may not be a potions master, but he can brew a lot of potions, including Wolfsbane and veritaserum."

"Why do you know how to brew those?"

"Part of my training at the Merlin Academy," Harry said. "The Combat Magic Track required that we brew a certain number of potions. And I later earned my Field Healer license studying under Daphne's great tutelage."

"And under her period," Fleur added, with a snicker.

Harry gave Fleur a playful glare before Daphne smiled.

"You know its true, Harry," she drawled.

"Of course I do, darling," Harry said, looking Daphne in the eye.

"So," Sirius said, changing the subject before it made him uncomfortable. "Did you get in contact with your inner Marauder?"

Daphne and Harry shared a grin before changing at one time. Sirius was shocked at Daphne's large form, and then he almost fainted when he realized Harry was a phoenix animagus.

He opened his mouth several times to say something, but couldn't get anything out.

"You did it!" Fleur exclaimed, running over to hug her lovers and friends.

"You know, as a Hit Wizard, I have to know if you're registered."

Harry and Daphne provided the papers they were provided.

"We're registered under the Veela Nation," Harry explained. "They made us citizens of their island so we can go visit."

"And because the Veela like you," Fleur added. "Did you know that Annabelle and Adrianna are the granddaughters of the Veela Matriarch?"

Daphne and Harry shook their heads.

"Annabelle is in line to command the Veela Security Forces, and Adrianna is the next to be named to the Veela Matriarch Council."

"They're young for those positions," Daphne said.

"We like to place them there young," Fleur said. "That way there is always a few of each age group in the council. This allows them to get differing viewpoints on the situations that face our nation."

"You know several Veela? Did you…"

"He shagged Annabelle and Adrianna quite often after his birthday," Fleur said, with a smile. "And I shagged him as well."

Sirius didn't know what to think. On one hand, he wanted to chastise his godson for his actions like a good parent would. On the other, the Marauder side of him, wanted to congratulate him on a job well done. He settled for something in the middle.

"You know, I'll support you as long as you know what you're doing and don't get in trouble because of it," Sirius said.

"I don't have to worry about that now," Harry said. "I have Daphne to keep me straight."

"And me," Fleur said.

"And Fleur will be staying with him at Hogwarts," Daphne said. "The Headmistress has agreed to allow Harry to share a room with Fleur because she is his legal concubine."

Sirius looked at Harry incredulously.

"So you've been in contact with her?"

"I sent her notice through Gringotts," Harry explained. "She sent me notice through Gringotts."

"That's easy enough," Sirius said. "Now, what are you doing his evening?"

"I thought I'd go and spend it wherever you stay," Harry said.

"The Weasleys, Hermione, Remus, and Tonks are staying with me," Sirius said. "But I'm sure I can arrange for the three of you to have your own room."

Daphne smiled.

"That would be great," She said. "I'll miss making love to Harry at Hogwarts."

Sirius shook his head.

"Please don't remind me about that," he said. "You're showing me up."

Harry smirked as Daphne grinned.

"And that is the reason that I will mention it," Harry said. "Oh, I think I should ask McGonagall about hiring outside tutors," he said. "I don't think I would be encouraged to do well if I had to sit through the normal classes."

"You can speak with her tonight," Sirius said. "She's going to come and visit since she knows I was going to meet with you today."

"And I bet Moody is quite hopping mad right now."

"What did you do, Harry," Daphne asked, sighing.

"I placed a charm that would prevent his eye from seeing through the wall," Harry said, smirking. "And he's in the next room."

"How do you know," Sirius asked.

"I have the ability to sense magic," Harry said. "I've shown it because it kept me safe. I think I gained it when I found out my animagus form and started to learn how to change. Speaking with Fawkes told me that it is true. A phoenix can sense magic much better than a person can and the ability will be transferred to my normal form from the animagus form."

"Just like I have better vision, hearing, and sight in my human form now that I'm an animagus," Daphne said.

"We Veela have known that for centuries," Fleur said. "It comes with the territory of being able to change in our alternative form."

* * *

After lunch, they took a portkey to get to Grimmauld Place. Sirius took Harry's knowledge of curse-breaking into account, and he keyed him into the wards so he could fix them. Bill Weasley was there, and he frowned as Fleur obviously doted on Harry. And, of course, Bill felt like it was a professional insult for Sirius to allow an undereducated teenager to work with the wards rather than an experienced curse-breaker like himself.

"Sirius, why did you key Harry into the wards?"

Sirius paused and looked at the oldest Weasley child.

"First of all, he is my godson. Second, he's my heir. Third, he was trained in warding this summer."

"I have several years of experience that he doesn't," Bill said, haughtily.

Fleur and Daphne put their hands on their hips and stared at the oldest Weasley child.

"William," Fleur said, in her voice. "If Sirius wants to place Harry in charge of the wards here, then it is his choice," the Veela said. "And if you want to see what Harry can do, then you should challenge him to a contest."

"Then I will," Bill said. "Harry, I challenge you to a duel and then to a warding contest. The winner will get Fleur."

Harry shook his head.

"Fleur is not a prize to be won, Bill," Harry said. "If you can't understand that, then you should go and learn more about people."

"Then you are scared you will lose," Bill said.

Harry shook his head and spoke softly.

"You don't want to know what I can do, William," Harry said. "If you challenge me, then I will show you up and you will be embarrassed."

"Prove it."

"Then swear on your life and magic not to reveal what I tell you. That goes for all of you who are here."

Bill refused to swear the oath.

"Then I will not accept your challenge," Harry said. "I can assure you, I will beat you."

"Then you will accept the challenge," Bill said, in a challenging tone.

"Fine," Harry said. He took out his wand and, before anyone could react, he cast a security charm.

"What the hell is that," Bill demanded to know.

"That is a standard security charm," Harry said. "You will not be able to speak of things I do not want you to speak of. And it should affect everyone who enters the house since it is now attached to the wards."

"That's impossible," Bill said. "Only one person…"

Harry took out a rune bracelet at the same time Daphne did. They put them on, and Bill looked faint as Fleur and Sirius seemed to enjoy it.

"You're Mr. Smith?"

Harry nodded.

Daphne looked at Bill after she removed the bracelet.

"And you should know that I will not take your accusations of cowardice against my husband lightly. And our concubine Fleur is not a prize to be won."

"Concubine?"

"Harry signed a concubine contract with me because I feared someone would use the old laws to force me to be their sex slave," Fleur said. "The laws are still on the books, and that is the reason Veela prefer not to come to this country. It is one of the few countries where such forced slavery is still legal."

Harry smirked as he looked at Bill.

"Now, Bill, do you want to challenge me to a duel after Daphne and I killed or captured about two dozen Death Eaters this summer?"

Bill shook his head, defeated. He knew when to call a defeat when he saw it. And he knew some of what Mr. Smith is capable of, and knew that Harry was the man who taught him more about curse-breaking than he had learned since. And it was obvious that Harry knew much more than he taught.

Moody, who had arrived, looked at Harry and then Daphne.

"Potter, why are you bringing in a Slytherin?"

"Because she's a good conversationalist," Harry said, raising an eyebrow toward him.

"Not good enough…"

Moody drew his wand, but Daphne drew faster and removed his wand from him. A moment later, Moody was tied up on the floor, with Daphne's wand pointed into his throat.

"Now, Mr. Moody," Daphne said, in a cool voice. "I do not like it when someone pulls a wand on me."

With Ron and a few others going for their wands, Harry pointed his at them.

"Point your wands down and not at my fiancé," Harry ordered.

"She's a Slytherin," Ron said, dumbly.

"Slytherin is not a bad house."

"All of them are Death Eaters."

"Peter Pettigrew," Harry said. "And for your information, the sorting hat wanted to put me in Slytherin."

The corner of Daphne's lips quirked. She liked how the Gryffindor Golden Boy had turned out not to be so golden or so Gryffindor.

"But she is a Slytherin," Hermione said, but without as much conviction as Ron said.

"You should be with Ginny," Molly said.

Harry wheeled on Molly.

"You do not tell me how to live my wife, Mrs. Weasley. Remember, your name is not Lily Potter."

"I know that," the woman snapped.

"So that means you are not his mother," Daphne said, imperiously. "The only woman around here who can control him is me."

Fleur smirked.

"Of course, my lady," Harry said, bowing to Daphne with a flourish.

"If you don't stop that nonsense, Fleur and I will make you sleep on the sofa for tonight," Daphne said.

Harry's mouth closed and he gave her an innocent look.

"That is not going to happen in this house!" Molly said, in a loud voice. "I won't have you sleeping with two scarlet women."

Harry pointed his wand at Molly Weasley.

"If you insult my betrothed or my legal and magical concubine one more time, then the House of Potter will no longer consider the Weasleys our friends," Harry said, in a threatening tone. "This goes for you too, Ronald and Ginevra. If you push me, I will call in the life debt you owe me, and I will go through with this."

"You can't," Ron said. "You're not old enough."

Harry held up his left hand, which had his family ring.

"How did you get that,' Hermione asked. "Only those who are of age are allowed to get their family rings."

"There are exceptions," Harry said. "The first is if the heir is the only member of the family left and is at least fifteen years old. There are other exceptions, but none of those are important in my case."

"Or mine," Daphne said, holding up her right hand, which contained her family ring.

"Doesn't Daphne get to wear the Potter ring," Hermione asked.

"Yes, when we get married," Harry said. "That won't be until we turn seventeen."

Daphne nodded her agreement.

"Harry?"

"Yes Hermione?"

"How did you become Mr. Smith? And how did you learn so much?"

"I'll need an oath so that you don't tell anyone this or talk about it without my express verbal permission," Harry said.

"Why is that," Hermione wanted to know.

"Some of this information will help me in the fight against the Death Eaters. And if they know who I am, and what identity Daphne and I used, then we will be placed higher on their target list."

Hermione nodded.

Everyone in the house gave the oath, including Bill, after Moody, Mr. Weasley, and Sirius made him do so.

Harry told them what happened, in general terms, and McGonagall, who had arrived to check on Harry, asked to speak with him in private.

"Mr. Potter, congratulations on your engagement."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry said.

"I know that you and Miss Delacour would like to room together. I will approve it only because you have a legally filed concubine relationship. Further, since you are betrothed to Miss Greengrass, and she is the last of her family, I can allow her to share your rooms as well. The Hogwarts rules and regulations allow the heads of family as well as married and betrothed couples to share quarters as long as their guardians agree."

"And Daphne and I agree because we can speak for ourselves."

"Exactly," McGonagall said. "You may inform Miss Greengrass of this information, and I will have the house elves place your things in the same suite. I do have a warning. If Miss Greengrass becomes pregnant, then I will have no choice but to remove her from Hogwarts. And I presume that you will join her."

"Yes," Harry said. "I will. We will take care."

"Good. I also hope that you and Miss Delacour will remember to think about how things look. The only reason I can do this is because you have a legal contract that allows you to stay together. That was done before Miss Delacour signed her apprenticeship agreement with Madam Pomfrey.

"Since you have special circumstances, and I know you have been educated, Aberforth Dumbledore and I have arranged for you to have special tutoring to help you prepare to face You-Know-Who. You won't attend the spell classes, but, instead, will take individual tutoring to prepare you for the OWLs and NEWTs."

"I am prepared for them already, Professor."

"With your scores at the Merlin Academy, I would be surprised if you were not, Mr. Potter. I will also arrange for your betrothed to join in on your training since she is similarly trained."

"Professor, I think she would be served better working with Madam Pomfrey and the new potions master. She is a certified healer and a potions master, and that can be hidden for now."

"We will have to work it out, but I'm sure Madam Pomfrey won't disagree with having Miss Greengrass assist her. The Board of Governors, on the other hand, may complain about it."

"Then we will complain to them for limiting the education of the Hogwarts students," Harry said. "With them in charge, and Dumbledore, the education of Hogwarts students has gone down. From what I've learned, in the past thirty years or so, the number of electives offered to students has dropped significantly."

"Indeed it has, Mr. Potter. I am working to change that. And I'm sure that you and Miss Greengrass can be two of the first students to benefit from the changing curriculum. I am allowed to make fifth year students and above teaching assistants in certain areas, and teaching assistants often have their own individual training in the course they are helping teach."

"What areas would you want me to have?"

"I believe that Professor Vance will accept you as her Defense Against the Dark Arts Teaching Assistant. She won't need help in classes, but we would like for you to teach an extracurricular study session that includes dueling and practical Defense," McGonagall said. "This is up to you, but I would like to start it by the beginning of October. Do you think you can work with that?"

"I think so," Harry said. "I would also like for an emergency healing course to be offered. It should teach basic first aid so people can help others or themselves until help arrives or they can send the injured to a healer."

"A wise idea. I will speak with Madam Pomfrey about that course. It would also require that you and Miss Greengrass, as well as Miss Delacour, serve as teaching assistants if there are many students."

Harry nodded.

"And hat will mean that we have special sessions to learn. But I can prove that I was certified as a field healer," Harry said. "We were with Fleur and trained over the summer."

"Miss Delacour's credentials are good for the summer," Professor McGonagall said. "If you can provide me a copy of your credentials from the summer, and I don't mean those you went back in time to get, I will gladly arrange for you to become a teaching assistant."

Harry nodded.

"I shall send them to you tomorrow morning," Harry said.

"Or you'd bring them to me personally?"

"Most likely," Harry said, seeing McGonagall's wry smile. She knew of his animagus form, as did the Weasleys, Remus, Tonks, Hermione, and Sirius.


	13. Return to Hogwarts

**AN: Sorry for the late update. I sometimes get plots in my head and I start to think about them and write the beginnings of the stories that contain them.**

After the members of the Order of the Phoenix left, or at least those Harry let in on the secret, he saw a bunch of angry Weasleys, an interested godfather, and a werewolf determined to see what was going on.

"Harry James Potter, what do you mean running off with a scarlet woman this summer," Molly demanded to know, her hands on her hips. A younger clone of Molly did the same thing, with fire in her eyes as she glared at Harry.

Harry shook his head and spoke.

"Mrs. Weasley, you have crossed the line I warned you not to cross," Harry said, coolly. "I,…"

"Harry, no," Daphne said, placing her hand on his lips to stop him. "You don't want to do this."

"Why not? I warned her not to," Harry said, looking at Daphne.

"Because it will make certain things difficult for you later on," Daphne said. "And we don't want difficult right now in a time of war. You don't want to spend a week on the sofa, do you?"

Harry paused and nodded. Daphne could be very convincing when she wanted to.

"Daphne, for you," Harry said, smiling at his beautiful bride. He turned to Mrs. Weasley. "You can thank Daphne for keeping me from removing you from the list of friends of the House of Potter,' Harry said. "I would like for you to not comment on things you do not understand," Harry added.

"But she's a Slytherin Slut," Ron said, for his mother.

Harry turned his ire onto his fellow Gryffindor.

"Think with your brain, Ron, not your inbred prejudices against Slytherins. A person's house at Hogwarts doesn't tell you anything. There are people who hide their abilities and so forth in every house and would be considered Slytherin if the sorting hat were to sort them today.

"With your prejudices and your ambitions to have everything handed to you, I'm surprised you weren't placed in Slytherin, because you are just like Draco Malfoy."

"I'M NOT A STINKING SLYTHERIN! AND I AM NOTHING LIKE BLOOD DRACO MALFOY!"

Harry shook his head and turned to Mr. Weasley.

"Mr. Weasley, if you don't mind my interference, I would suggest that you send your youngest son to his room until he can think about his prejudices. I know you tried to teach him better, but some things are just too hard for him to understand."

"I understand, Harry," Arthur said. "Ronald, you are to go up to your room and remain there until you are awakened to prepare for school. I also suggest that you take the time to pack your trunk so we can get an early start to Hogwarts in the morning."

"But Dad…"

"I said go," Arthur said. "Molly, you should go help Ginny with her packing as well. Harry is right. I don't know where you and Ronald get your prejudices from, but I am going to stop it. You represent the Weasleys, who profess to be better than those who hate non-magical people and those who don't have a long lineage of magic users. I cannot have your prejudices against certain people due to superficial titles harm our good name."

Molly and Ron looked shocked at Arthur's commanding words, and Ginny looked as if she was going to protest her father's unfair treatment of her because of Harry.

"Ginevra," Arthur said, heading off his fiery tempered daughter. "I want you to go to your room to pack before you can get in trouble as well. I think there are a few discussions that Sirius will need to have with his Godson about certain issues as well."

Harry nodded, accepting it. It was Mr. Weasley's way of rebuking Harry about his arguments with his wife. Sirius also accepted it, knowing that Harry was in the right, but he would warn Harry against antagonizing the Weasleys, as they were allies, and one didn't needlessly antagonize their allies.

"Harry, if you'll come up to my study? Miss Greengrass, I'm sure that Fleur will escort you to your room while I talk with your betrothed."

Daphne nodded. She knew what this was, and she accepted it. Her parents would be doing a similar thing to her right now, and she accepted it as it was.

"Come Daphne," Fleur said, taking Daphne by the elbow. "Let's go and have a woman-to-woman chat."

Harry followed Sirius into the Black Family Master's Study. Sirius shut the door, and turned to face Harry.

"Harry, I know you are right in this case, but do you need to antagonize Mrs. Weasley and Ron?"

"I'm sorry, Sirius, but I can't help it. They just rubbed me the wrong way, and I tend to jump up in the defense of those I care about."

Sirius paused a moment and looked at his godson. He smiled slightly, as he could see that Harry was the mixture of Lily and James.

"I know what that's like, Harry. Take it from one who knows. Doing that can lead you to a lot of trouble. Look at me. I wanted to get revenge for what happened to you and it cost me eleven years in Azkaban. I don't want you to make the same mistakes I did."

"I know," Harry said, softly. "I'll try to do better."

"I know you can do better, Harry," Sirius said. "You did a great job this summer with things. Another thing, I am surprised you told everything about your summer. I'm sure telling them that you trained was sufficient enough for now. And telling them of your relationships was fine. I am questioning why you told them everything, such as your training and using a time turner. Some people may take it as evidence you did something illegal and should get in trouble for."

"I know. I just can't help myself sometimes, and I'm used to telling Hermione just about everything," Harry said. "I let my Gryffindor side overrule my Slytherin side again."

"That happens to all of us," Sirius said, with an amused chuckle, as he walked over to a cabinet. He opened it and pulled out two tumblers and a bottle of an amber colored liquid. He poured two glasses. "Here."

Harry took it and took a sip.

"Rosmerta's Finest," Sirius said, holding it up to the light. "Molly wouldn't agree with me, but I know you have lived long enough to handle it properly. And with your life, I'm sure you need it every now and then."

Harry took a sip and thought for a few minutes. He cursed himself for not thinking things through. Daphne was sure to let him have it when they were in private. And he was sure Fleur will be disappointed.

"Damn," Harry said.

"What is it, Harry?"

"Daphne and Fleur will take me to task about revealing a large number of my secrets, even if we did get a magical oath of sorts from them."

"Yes, I agree," Sirius said. "Daphne looks like she's a great influence on you. She'll help you think things through. I know that I suffer from the same thing every now and then. It's very dangerous in times like this. Look what happened when I let my sense of revenge get ahead of my planning and upbringing? After that, I don't think I'll ever let myself go that far again without thinking through some plan."

"I guess I should take similar measures myself," Harry said. "And Daphne will have a good way to help me learn quickly."

"Yeah. James didn't like sleeping on the sofa either."

Harry smiled.

"I guess he would know about that."

"Yup," Sirius said. "And I helped him earn it too."

Harry chuckled.

"How did you help him earn it?"

"We still performed a lot of mischief after we graduated Hogwarts," Sirius said. "We tried to prank everyone at Order meetings and Lily was not happy with that. And she wasn't happy with the way we also went out to a bar sometimes in the evenings before returning home after a mission, leaving Lily worried about us. Those were the worst nights, and she would make him sleep on the sofa and refuse to make him a hangover potion."

"Mum made the hangover potions?"

"Our potions skills were useful for pranks, and hangover potions, but only when we were sober," Sirius said. "We tried to keep the potion handy, but it has a short shelf-life and we weren't always able to keep it. Lily would find it and thrown out the old doses because it is dangerous to use an old potion. Sometimes, she would make us hangover potions, but make us suffer through breakfast and getting ready for a day. But she would always provide it to us if we had a dangerous mission that we had to go on, or something like a Death Eater attack came up.

"The only other time that she provided it was when she was pregnant with you and on their wedding day. She wanted James and I sober at all times, and Remus had a hard time keeping us that way."

"What about Pettigrew?"

"Let's not talk about that traitor, Harry," Sirius said, frowning. "I don't like to think about him, nor do I like to think about how I spent about a third of my life in Azkaban because of him."

"I understand," Harry said.

"I know you do," Sirius said. "Now, you should get up to your room and find your lovely ladies. I'm sure they will be talking to you as well."

Harry nodded and left to find his room. He found it and knocked on the door. Daphne opened the door.

"We have to talk," She said, giving him a pointed look.

* * *

The next morning, Harry awoke from the sofa. Daphne and Fleur had made him sleep on the sofa because of his actions the night before. The least of which were his arguments with the Weasleys. Daphne was most upset that some of their secrets had been revealed, and she, as a Slytherin, and as a smart person, knew that it was best to keep a lot of things secret. With Harry revealing a lot of things, even to allies, it could get around to Voldemort eventually, even with the precaution of a secrecy charm or oath.

A properly chastised Harry kissed Daphne and Fleur good morning before getting in the shower. When he got out, Daphne was brushing her hair. He walked over to her, after he was dressed, and took the brush from her hands. Daphne let him, and she closed her eyes as he brushed her hair. After all, they had an hour before breakfast, and Daphne loved letting Harry play with her hair. It also let her apply a little make-up while he brushed her hair, shortening the time it took her to get ready.

At breakfast, the youngest Weasleys and their mother ignored Harry, Daphne, and Fleur. Harry thought that was a fine idea right now, as he wasn't in the mood to deal with them. Sirius, who finished breakfast as Harry was starting, stood.

"Harry, I wish I could see you off, but I have a meeting with Amelia to prepare for. I hope you have a good trip."

"Thanks, Sirius," Harry said.

"Oh and Harry, be prepared for something to happen today. We have heard several reports that something will happen soon."

Harry nodded, knowing that this was the most Sirius could legally tell him. But Harry had prepared already for an attack today on the Hogwarts Express at some point. It would be like Voldemort, but then again, he knew the Ministry would prepare for such an event.

What worried Harry more was that the Death Eaters would attack somewhere the Aurors weren't prepared to defend, such as the Ministry of Magic, or Diagon Alley.

"Sirius?"

"Let's just say Voldemort is more likely to attack the Ministry or Diagon Alley."

"We have the major targets covered, Harry," Sirius said. "We have teams out there all the time and we have several strike teams available to reinforce the areas of an attack. That's all I can say."

"And that's all you'd better say, Black," Moody said. "You can tell Potter this because it is public knowledge. Remember, Potter, Constant Vigilance."

"Yes sir," Harry replied.

After Ron and the Twins packed at the last minute, leaving the others rolling their eyes, Harry created the portkey that would take them to Kings Cross. Thankfully, he knew this was legal since he had arranged for the goblins to purchase him a portkey permit from the Ministry, at the price of ten thousand galleons for a lifetime license for personal use only.

He held out the rope to everyone to grab hold of, and Remus, who was their escort, along with Arthur and Molly, nodded.

"Let's go," Remus instructed. "If you don't have everything, we can owl it to you if you need it for school."

Ron touched his finger to the portkey as it activated. They landed in the designated portkey location, and Aurors were there, ready for action. Two of the Aurors examined the newcomers, with one of them nodded at Harry and Remus.

"I forgot my homework," Ron said.

"I will owl it to you dear," Molly said. "We have to get you on the train."

"But Mum…."

"Ronald, you were told to pack last night."

"I had to finish my homework last night," he mumbled, and Molly gave him an exasperated look.

"Harry, did you complete your homework?"

"Hermione," Daphne said, with a smile. "I made sure he had it done so we could play."

Hermione blushed lightly when she realized what she was talking about.

"Fleur, are you going to ride the Express?"

"Non," the French Witch said. "The Headmistress provided me a portkey to get to Hogwarts. I have to be there for the staff meeting."

"We'll see you tonight, then," Harry said to Fleur, giving her a hug. She hugged him back, and then hugged Daphne and Hermione. The Veela ignored the Weasleys, except for a polite word or two. After Fleur left, Ron looked jealously at Harry, and Harry sighed. This would be a long train ride with a jealous Ron Weasley. At least they had their prefect's meeting.

"Harry, we have our meeting soon," Hermione said.

"I know, Hermione," Harry said. "Daphne?"

"I'm with you, dear future husband," Daphne said, not caring who heard it. Their relationship would be public sooner rather than later, so they had decided not to hide it. After all, Daphne proudly wore an engagement ring on her left hand and the Potter Concubine Choker around her neck. Even her parents would be satisfied with this arrangement had they been alive.

Daphne took Harry's arm, and that got a lot of attention, as well as a photograph from a _Daily Prophet_ reporter covering the departure of the Hogwarts Express for a chance to snap photographs of the Boy-Who-Lived.

* * *

For Harry, the prefect meeting went well. Due to an order from the Headmistress, the students would patrol in groups of three to make things safer for the prefects in these dangerous times. Daphne, Hermione, and Harry would patrol together, making it an enjoyable patrol schedule for Harry. They had three, hour-long patrols each week, as there were eight patrol teams.

After the meeting, Harry, Daphne, and Hermione returned to the last car to start their patrol of the train, as they had the first hour of the trip after the meeting. It was quite an easy task, Harry found, with the biggest problems facing them at the moment was first years trying to perform magic, and a few scuffles.

With Harry's presence, many of the scuffles seemed to stop, as people seemed to respect his magical abilities after his win in the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and his escape from Voldemort and his Inner Circle Death Eaters. Those that didn't stop were quickly stopped with the judicious use of petrifying spells. Those were among the few spells they could use to stop a fight if words wouldn't do.

Each student who was in a scuffle that wouldn't stop had their names and house written down on a charmed notebook that each patrol team had to keep up with and sign. They had to keep up with the incidents during their patrols, or even when they weren't scheduled to patrol, as well as the punishment they gave. Each prefect had to sign it to attest to the veracity of the information.

At Hogwarts, Harry was glad to get there. He had to deal with a petulant Draco Malfoy, who had been refused the prefect position because of his propensity to cause problems. Draco, who hated that Harry and Hermione were prefects when he wasn't, tried to goad Harry into a fight. Harry ignored it, knowing Daphne would punish him for it in her own way.

Ron, on the other hand, got in a fist fight with Draco and his goons, forcing several prefects to break it up with magic. All four were dutifully recorded on the patrol logs of several prefects, and that would mean they would be given a detention and lose points for fighting since the rides on the Hogwarts Express was considered part of the school year as far as punishments were concerned. However, prefects could not remove points until after the Opening Feast. Only the Headmistress or a Head of House could do that.

"What is it with Weasley and Malfoy," Harry asked Daphne, as they rode to the school in a carriage. "They act like spoiled children."

"That's because they are spoiled children," Daphne said, in her characteristic, sarcastic tone. "Both expect to be handed things for various reasons. For Weasley, it's because he's Ronald Bilius Weasley. For Malfoy, it's because he's a Malfoy."

"Stupid reasons to act like children," Hermione muttered. "And people wonder why they don't have many true friends."

"Weasley only befriended Harry because he is famous and wealthy," Daphne said. "And he did try to keep others from speaking with you and taking up what he considered his rightful place by your side."

"I never knew that," Harry said.

"That's because you didn't see anything beyond your immediate circle," Daphne said. "I don't fault you for that with your upbringing, but you should have paid attention to what was going on around you."

"But I did find out from Neville that Ron did bully others when we weren't around," Hermione said. "I shudder to think about what he would do if he were named a prefect or Quidditch Captain. He would abuse the authority to do things he wanted to do, and nothing more and nothing less. His patrol partners would do a lot of the work."

"Then it's a good thing he isn't a prefect," Neville Longbottom said, as he spoke for the first time. "He would abuse it, Harry, and I did catch him telling people that you hated Slytherins or people Ron didn't like so you wouldn't get contacted by them."

Harry shook his head.

"Then I'm glad I don't consider him a friend anymore," Harry said. "He's too childish for me and doesn't want to grow up."

"That's strange coming from Gryffindor's Golden Boy," Daphne drawled.

Harry smirked.

"And Slytherin's Ice Princess knows about friendship," Harry asked, in a playful tone.

"Watch it, Mister," Daphne said. "Or you'll be sleeping on the sofa tonight."

Neville didn't say a word, as he saw the engagement ring and the choker. He was well educated in pureblood social customs and knew that Daphne could legally use the name Greengrass-Potter as long as she was his concubine. And she would change her name to Potter when they wed.

"Harry, do you care to tell me how you and Daphne got together?"

"The short story is that we both needed a vacation from England and wanted to train to prepare for the fight," Harry said, with Daphne nodding her head in agreement. "The long story is a bit more complicated, and I don't think we should get into it for various reasons."

"I understand," Neville said. "I don't want to know the details. I was just curious how you two started to date when Ron wouldn't like it."

"Let's leave Ron out of this," Harry said.

* * *

The opening feast was like usual, and, after the announcements by McGonagall, Harry and Hermione stood to herd the first years to Gryffindor Tower.

"First Year Lions over here," Harry said, in a loud voice.

Hermione smirked and copied Harry's call, as the fifth year prefects always had to escort the first years to the tower and tell them the password. It was a tradition older than the combined ages of everyone at the school, dating back to the time of the Founding.

Once they had all of them, Harry spoke.

"Please pay attention to the route we take," Harry said. "It will help you tomorrow when its time for breakfast."

"And we will give you hand drawn maps that show the best ways to get to each classroom, the library, the common room, and the Great Hall," Hermione said. "But you have to remember the stair cases, and we have included a list of tricks that are commonly seen on the paths you should take."

Harry smirked at Hermione, who he knew would be thorough in helping the first years.

After they got to Gryffindor Tower, Harry stopped in front of the Fat Lady.

"This is the Gryffindor Portrait Guardian," Harry said. "We affectionately call her…"

"The Fat Lady," The portrait said, primly. "It's nice to meet you. Mr. Potter, do you have the password?"

"The current password, which will change at least once a week, is Unity," Harry said. "Remember this, and don't write it down. It is against the rules to tell your friends from other houses the password to the Common Room. But I do encourage you to have friends from other houses."

The portrait had swung open at Harry saying the password. The first years entered and saw the common room for the first time.

"Boys are on the right and girls are on the left," Hermione said.

"Boys cannot get into the girl dormitories. If you try, let's just say that everyone in the tower will know."

"What will happen?"

"What's your name," Hermione asked.

"Blake," the boy said.

"Walk up the stairs and find out," Hermione said, smirking.

The boy walked up the stairs, which turned into a slide and a gong sounded.

"That will happen," Harry said. "And you will have a lot of angry upper years if you wake them up."

"And Harry is not a person you want to have without his morning tea," Hermione teased.

Harry saw McGonagall smiling at them as Hermione helped Blake up from the floor.

"What's going on here?"

"Just a warning not to go up the wrong staircase, Professor," Harry said.

"Good," McGonagall said. "The same thing will happen if a girl tries to go up the boys staircase this year. Mr. Potter, I would like to show you to your rooms."

"Hermione, can you handle it from here?"

"I'll pass out the maps and hints," Hermione said, pointing to a stack of parchment. McGonagall smiled as she knew that these two prefects would be thorough. "Have a good evening," Hermione said to Harry, and the Headmistress.

"You too, Hermione."

"The same, Miss Granger," McGonagall said. "Mr. Potter, you are aware that I will need you to spend time in your common room, aren't you?"

"Yes Professor. Hermione already talked to me about it, and we're going to discuss having a prefect who is not patrolling in the common room at all times to help the first years with questions for the first week or so."

"Good," McGonagall said, with a smile. "If you'll follow me, Mr. Potter, we will speak in my office."

Harry nodded, wondering if this was more about what McGonagall had told him the evening before.

"What do you think of the train ride? I saw in my book where you had to stop several scuffles, especially Ron Weasley and Draco Malfoy."

"I think it was decent, Professor," Harry said. "Ron and Draco will be a problem this year. Ron will be jealous of me, and I am afraid he will argue more with me and Hermione. And Draco, I'm sure that part of it is because his father was killed earlier this summer attacking my relatives. He will take it out on me and anyone else he can think of. I also fear that this will lead him to taking the Dark Mark."

"I am afraid of that as well, Mr. Potter. I want you to know that anyone with the Dark Mark will be expelled and turned over to the DMLE for interrogation. We are going to take no chances with security this year. Albus would have allowed them to remain thinking he could redeem them. Personally, I don't trust them and I don't want to allow them the chance to harm any of the students. My job is to protect the students, not allow a Death Eater to redeem himself or herself."

"I understand, Professor. I will let you know anything I hear."

"I would appreciate that, Mr. Potter. For all of the portraits and elves that report to me, there is a chance that I won't be able to understand everything. And without your betrothed in Slytherin, I have lost a source there as well."

"Daphne reported to you?"

"Yes," McGonagall said. "She did it because she felt it was the right thing to do, and she knew that it would help slow down problems if I could do something about them. But with Severus and Albus, I was unable to do anything to prevent any problems. We don't have them here to gum up my plans to secure the school."

"Yes Professor," Harry said. "I know what they did. Speaking of Dumbledore, how is he doing?"

"Not well, I'm afraid," McGonagall said. "The Healers don't think he will survive through December. I hate to think that such a great man is reduced to this."

"We all make mistakes, and his were greater," Harry said, in a somber tone. He may not have liked what the man had done in his life, but he respected him for his previous accomplishments and sheer magical abilities. "And our society believed he was infallible for decades. For that reason, if I defeat Voldemort, I want to be a behind the scenes person, putting out my support to the causes that need it, but leaving the day-to-day work to others. I don't have a desire to work in politics, but I know it will be a part of my life."

"It will, Mr. Potter."

They reached the gargoyle and McGonagall gave the password. "Wronsky Feint," she said, and the Gargoyle opened. Harry smiled at the password.

"Please, after you, Professor."

McGonagall smiled and led the way up to the office. She opened the door and Aberforth Dumbledore was there.

"I've closed the bar early tonight for an hour or so," he said.

"Thank you for coming, Aberforth," Minerva said. "Mr. Potter, this is Aberforth Dumbledore, the Barkeeper at the Hogshead and Albus' brother."

"It's nice to meet you, sir," Harry said, holding out his hand. The bearded man shook it.

"It's nice to meet you too, Mr. Potter. You sure do have the spirit of your mother in you. She was quite mischievous when she put her mind to it."

Harry smiled. He was compared to his father more than his mother, and this was a welcome change.

"Please, have a seat," McGonagall said, waving her hand. "We have several things to discuss."

"Mr. Potter," Aberforth began. "Minerva has told me that you have been informed of your training schedule."

"Yes sir," Harry said. "I am to take non-spell classes and will have my spell classes taught by others."

"Indeed you will. I will be teaching you twice a week in the mornings when the bar isn't so busy. Filius and Minerva will also teach you, or at least give you guidance as to what to learn since I have heard you studied a bit over the summer."

Harry nodded.

"I did train a bit over the summer, sir."

"I hope you enjoyed it, Mr. Potter. After all, you now have two concubines to support, and a soon-to-be-wife. That will greatly restrict your freedom."

"But it's a good way," Harry said, smiling wistfully. "Daphne and Fleur are good for me, and I think I agree with the family life."

Aberforth gave a hearty chuckle.

"I'm not surprised at all," he said. "With the way you were raised, I am happy you want nothing more than to have a family, even in these times."

"We are not here to socialize," Minerva said. "It is getting late, and we all have things to do."

"Mr. Potter, these things are what my brother wanted you to have. I have added a few of his books that I want you to have to study by."

"I don't know what to say, sir. Thank you."

"You're welcome, Mr. Potter. I do know that my brother left copies of several memories he wanted to go over with you at a later date. I do not know what the contents are, but I am sure they will pertain to this Dark Lord we're facing.

"The books that you have include Albus' notebook on the war, and my personal notebook. My notebook is my recollection and beliefs about the identities of Death Eaters and their tactics. I have a copy of this book I keep up to date at my place, and when I add something, it will be added to yours. This is also a direct link to the intelligence I gather from listening to patrons.

"It's quite amazing to find out what people will say when they think I'm a shady barkeeper."

Harry smiled.

"I really appreciate it. Does Sirius know about this?"

"Alastor Moody has the other copy," Aberforth said. "He adds in his own intelligence, when he can do so without breaking Ministry oaths or laws. And I should think that you would do the same. All three are linked, and when one is updated, the cover will show a phoenix visible only to you.

"If you'll allow me to show you how to key it to you, we will continue our business and you can join your lovely ladies for a nightcap."

Harry smiled and then Aberforth helped him secure the notebook.

An hour later, Harry was in his new quarters, with Daphne and Fleur waiting on him wearing nothing but silk lingerie. Harry placed his new things on the table and, with a wave of his wand, was as naked as the day he was born.


	14. Oh Bloody Night

**AN: Thank you for all of you who read the story and those who have reviewed. **

While Harry was enjoying a night with his lovely ladies, Ginny Weasley was lying thoughtful in her bed. She knew that she wanted Harry, but to get him, she had to get him away from those two sluts. However, with the warning her father gave her, and the talk her mother gave her, she knew that she wouldn't have an easy time of it.

As she thought about it, Ginny started to cry. She realized that she couldn't live her dream of marrying the Boy-Who-Lived. Even if he did marry her because of some potion, she would suffer because she could be charged with line theft if it ever came to light. And with a betrothed and a concubine, the best Ginny could hope for was concubine status.

After her tears dried up, she decided that she would try to become one of Harry's concubines, even if she had to act like a scarlet woman to seduce Harry into signing a concubine contract with her. But first, she had to make him want her, and the best way for that was to date someone and let him catch her in compromising positions without any clothes on.

Ginny fell asleep with a large grin on her face. She knew the perfect person to help her, and he would not balk at her offer of sleeping with him.

* * *

Sirius Black was concerned about how things were going. He knew that Molly and Ginny wouldn't give up easily, as the Weasley women were nothing but passionate about getting things to go their way. He worried about how Ginny would attempt to get Harry away from his two women. Sirius wouldn't want to ruin the Weasley name by arresting young Ginny on charges of using a love potion and line theft, which was the usual charge if the Ministry determined it was done for nefarious purposes.

If Ginny used love potions, nothing stopped him or Daphne from bringing all of their power and the law to bear on the youngest Weasley. And it would fracture the light side at a bad time in this conflict.

Sirius sighed as he realized that he had to prevent this.

With that thought in mind, Sirius went to speak with Arthur about his concerns. Arthur would be able to use his patriarchal power for the Weasleys to somewhat control his wife and daughter. And Sirius was sure that Arthur would want to prevent this major problem. After all, losing the trust of the Potters would be a major blow against the Weasley Family as a whole.

* * *

The first day of classes back at Hogwarts was quite interesting for Harry. He had the specially scheduled classes, and the other students were somewhat surprised he was getting to have guided lessons with professors on an individual basis versus sitting in class and doing homework.

Ron was quite jealous again, and Harry knew he had to find a way to stop that, but that would be a hard job.

"How was your first lesson, Harry," Daphne asked.

"It was very good," Harry said. "Aberforth knows what he's talking about."

"What did you study?"

"We actually discussed where I was in my training with the Headmistress so we could prepare the lessons," Harry said.

"Did you tell him the truth?"

"I felt that it would be wise to do so for him and McGonagall. I can trust them."

"I hope so, Harry," Daphne said. "Weasley was not happy that you missed Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"It's not my fault, Daphne."

"Maybe it is," Daphne said. "You were the one who went to train over the summer."

"I agree with her, Harry," Hermione said, piping up. "And there were quite a few questions about you missing Defense Against the Dark Arts since it's your best class."

"If it's my best class, then people shouldn't be surprised," Harry said.

"Some thought you were kicked out of the class," Hermione corrected.

"I see what you mean now," Harry said. "I can promise you that there will be an announcement made this week about a study group."

"What kind of study group?"

"Professor McGonagall asked me to be the student leader of the group. Professor Vance and Professor Flitwick have agreed to be the faculty sponsors, but they wanted a student leader. So they came to me."

"I see," Daphne said. "And is it open to all students?"

"Fifth year and above to limit the number of students," Harry said. "But that's all I will say about it until I know more."

"Are you planning the lessons?"

"It's a student-run group, Hermione," Harry said. "And that's it."

Hermione smiled.

"I know you'll do a good job, Harry. If you need help preparing lesson plans, let me know."

"I will," Harry said. "But for now, I don't need any help. Professor Vance and Professor Flitwick are meeting with me this evening to discuss how to go about this. And this is a requirement to allow me to miss the OWL Defense Against the Dark Arts Class. I felt it was a reasonable request after they're allowing me to have individual lessons."

"Why are you getting those lessons, Harry," Neville asked. "Is it because the press is calling you the Chosen One?"

"Voldemort has a habit of attacking me," Harry said. "So they decided it was better to prepare me for the eventual attacks again."

"Why does he attack you so much?"

"Dark Lords don't like reminders of their failures around," Harry said. "So I'm sure that is the major reason he continues to attack me."

Daphne nodded. She knew the truth.

"But why did he attack you in the first place?"

"My parents defied him several times," Harry said. "And they helped take out nearly two dozen Death Eaters between the time they graduated Hogwarts and when my mum got pregnant with me. I think your parents were the same, Neville."

The pudgy boy nodded his agreement.

"I know. Gran has told me all about them," he said. "But she wants me to be as good as they are."

"Neville, you can do great work. You've just had a hard time with bullies and believing in yourself," Hermione said, smiling at her friend. "If you want help, just let me know. I'll be glad to help you study for the OWLs this year."

"Thanks, Hermione. If you don't mind, I would like to study, especially potions," he said.

"We can arrange the schedule, Neville," Hermione said, giving him a smile.

Harry and Daphne shared a look. They recognized the look on Neville's face, as well as Hermione's. Neville and Hermione was an unlikely couple, but it seemed like they liked each other somewhat and could be a great couple if they worked out in the long run.

Harry hoped that his friends would start to come out of their shell even more. Neville needed a lot of help because he was often bullied by people like Snape and Malfoy. With Snape gone, Neville would have a chance of showing more of the man he could become. And Harry made a decision that he would do his best to help that.

"We wouldn't mind joining your study group either, Hermione," Daphne said, with a smile, understanding her husband's thoughts. "I know Harry can use the help in potions, and we can all use the review before the OWLs start."

Hermione beamed at Daphne, and Neville smiled as well. Harry nodded his agreement at their looks and they spent the rest of lunch discussing the scheduling for the study group and if they were going to invite others in.

By the time they left to go to Potions, they had decided to leave it just the small group for now and make a decision about letting others in later.

For Harry, Potions without Snape was interesting. He and Neville partnered with Daphne and Hermione respectively, and they both had a lot of help with their respective partners. Harry, who would have done well with the OWL level potions anyway due to his training, knew that having Daphne with him would show an excuse for his grades in potions to get better. And Daphne had known it when they had partnered together.

The Professor, Daniel Sutherland, started out by teaching them about the potion they were going to be brewing. Since the potion only took a half hour to brew, they would have more time to study the potion and learn about how to brew it.

Professor Sutherland showed them how to brew the potion first, and then set them to work brewing the potion. This teaching method was better for Harry and quite a few others, and there were relieved smiles of the students, especially the Gryffindors, as they left potions.

Some of the Slytherins, like Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson, were not happy with the way potions class had gone, as they had been docked points and given detentions for attempting to cheat and for attempting to sabotages the work by other students.

"Mr. Malfoy, Miss Parkinson, I expect you in my office at seven sharp this evening to serve your detention."

"Professor, but Potter…"

"Mr. Malfoy, this isn't about Mr. Potter, who completed his work and stopped you from throwing an explosive ingredient in the potion. It's about your actions in this class. I am appalled that Severus would let such atrocities occur. And I am not surprised why the grades are this way because Severus is a Death Eater and very biased against certain people. I am not going to be biased, and I will be fair to everyone. And I will punish everyone who deserves it. Now get to dinner, as you will spend the entire evening with me."

"Yes Professor," Malfoy said. The blond haired teen then sulked out of the classroom, followed by an equally sulking Pansy Parkinson.

* * *

At the end of the first week of classes, Harry was meeting with his tutors to discuss his progress.

"Mr. Potter," Minerva said. "I daresay that you are well prepared to take your NEWTs in Transfiguration."

"As well as in Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts," Filius said. "I would suggest that you start independent study toward a mastery certificate in those areas, if you are so inclined."

"If you don't seek a mastery certification, then I will require that you become a teaching assistant in those areas," McGonagall said. "I am inclined to make you a teaching assistant to give you more authority for the Defense Against the Dark Arts study group you will be leading. Aberforth, what would you say to that?"

"I think that Mr. Potter needs to continue to study advanced spells," he said. "I can teach more advanced spells, and I am known for work in charms."

Minerva rolled her eyes.

"Infamous is more like it," she said to her old friend. "Mr. Potter, I will give you a week to decide if you wish to seek mastery certification. I am willing to take you on as an apprentice in Transfiguration since I know that you will earn the mastery before or soon after you graduate from Hogwarts. This way, I can teach you advanced spells, and we can discuss adding a transfiguration study group under your tutelage."

"I, too, extend the offer for an apprentice, Mr. Potter," Flitwick said. "Your work in charms reminds me greatly of your mother, and you obviously had a great instructor over the summer. I won't ask who your instructor is because some of them require a non-disclosure agreement, but I do commend you."

"Thank you, Professors," Harry said. "I'm not sure what to say about this. But I would like to seriously consider it for the future."

"Good, Mr. Potter," McGonagall said. "If you are good enough, then, when you graduate, I wouldn't mind hiring you as a full time professor if we have an opening. I am also looking at options to increase the curriculum to include dueling and an advanced elective in both Transfiguration and Charms to allow for students who wish to study beyond the NEWT level. Those courses would require more work than our current staffing requirements could meet, and, if you happen to have masteries in three areas, I could hire you to take some of the work load."

"I'm honored you would consider me for a job like that at this stage in my education, Professor," Harry said. "But at this stage, I wouldn't be able to decide on a career path. After all, I do have a family to consider with my decisions."

"I agree, Mr. Potter," McGonagall said. "I would be most vexed with you if did not consider your family. But for what we are offering at the moment, there is no question that Miss Greengrass will encourage you to accept the offers."

"All I can promise right now is that I will seriously consider it. I will also need to discuss it with my Godfather."

"I will ask Mr. Black to come up this weekend to discuss it with you," McGonagall said. "I'm sure he will also encourage you to seek a mastery in these subjects. Even if you did nothing in the field, having the certification will go a long way to assuring you of employment in the field of your choice post Hogwarts. Even fields such as Curse-breaking would like to have their people to have masteries in other areas than Curse-breaking and warding. Many fields require a well-rounded education, and you would, no doubt, have that if you can obtain masteries in the spell subjects."

"Professor, is there any way I may study spell creation and modification? It's an area I'm interested in, but I had little time to study with my schedule."

"Spell Creation is a field that is difficult to get into. I know you aren't taking Arithmancy and Ancient Runes as electives, but those would be required, if my knowledge of spell creation is correct."

"You are correct, Minerva," Filius said. "Though Arithmancy is more concerned with divination using numbers, it is important in spell creation, as there are techniques to calculate spell parameters. If you can take and pass the OWLs in Arithmancy and Ancient Runes at the end of the year, I would feel better about offering you an enchantment elective as long as you take the NEWTs in Ancient Runes and Arithmancy."

"Enchantment is an elective we are going to offer next year, Mr. Potter. I can also safely say that we will also offer Warding, and possibly a spell creation elective for the NEWT students. I don't know where you stand in those subjects, but I am looking for professors who have experience in the area."

"And if Hogwarts cannot offer it due to staffing concerns," Aberforth said. "I am sure that we can arrange for a private tutor to assist you in studying the fields of your choice. The Ministry will not frown upon students hiring personal tutors in other areas during the summers once they have their OWLs. They even allow personal tutors in the OWL subjects over the summers now."

"MINERVA MCGONAGALL!" a voice came out of the Floo.

"Yes, how can I help you, Sirius?"

"Hogsmeade is under attack."

"Very well," Minerva said, standing. "Hogwarts, emergency lockdown," she instructed. "Mr. Potter, you should return to your common room and remain there."

"Daphne and Fleur are in the hospital wing with Madam Pomfrey."

"Then you may join them, Mr. Potter," McGonagall said, thinking. "In fact, I think I would like you to be there, just in case. You are trained in field medicine, are you not? We will be receiving casualties I'm sure."

"I am, Professor," Harry said.

"Good. Then report to Madam Pomfrey. I'll have the rest of the staff secure the school."

Harry nodded and McGonagall showed him how to use the internal Floo Network to get to the Hospital Wing.

"What's going on," Daphne asked. "We were here and the doors were shut."

"Death Eaters in Hogsmeade," Harry said.

Madam Pomfrey nodded.

"And you are here to assist us, Mr. Potter?"

"Yes ma'am," Harry said. "Where do you need me?"

Madam Pomfrey paused.

"Miss Greengrass, I will need you to brew blood replenishing potions, burn creams, and dreamless sleep draught. Miss Delacour, would you please assist her for now until I call for you?"

"Yes Madam Pomfrey," Fleur said.

"Mr. Potter, I want you to take an inventory of all of the bandages we have. If there are fewer than a hundred bandages, contact Dobby the House Elf and ask him to find more."

Harry nodded and went to the bandage cabinet. He started to count the bandages while Fleur and Daphne went to brew potions. A few minutes later, Professor Sutherland arrived and started to work with Daphne to brew potions in the hospital wing potions lab.

Fleur entered the main part of the hospital wing when the first injured arrived via portkey since Hogwarts was a medical evacuation area due to Madam Pomfrey's presence.

"St. Mungos is at capacity, Madam Pomfrey," Harry said, getting the message from McGonagall. "More wounded are on their way here from other attacks as well."

"Mr. Potter, I will need your help," She said. "Can you take care of the injuries?"

"Yes ma'am," Harry said.

"Good," she said. "Alert me or Miss Delacour to the cases that need immediate attention. Do your best to stop bleeding and assist breathing. And practice triage."

"Yes ma'am."

Harry soon was at work stopping bleeding on the patients and giving blood replenishing potions as the dozens of patients flooded the hospital wing.

The patients flooded out into the halls, and many of them were bleeding, in shock, and had deep cuts. Those who were bleeding severely were treated first, and all of the Hogwarts professors were doing their part in stabilizing the wounded.

* * *

When the sun rose, a bloodied Harry Potter sat in a chair, nearly exhausted. The last of the wounded had been cared for and they were either in beds or sent home to rest, if they had a place to go. Madam Pomfrey and Fleur had their attention on the seriously wounded and were waiting for word that St. Mungos would accept transfers from Hogwarts.

There had been a dozen other attacks that night in Diagon Alley, the Ministry of Magic, and in several other magical neighborhoods.

"Mr. Potter, are you ok?"

"I'm fine," Harry said, looking up wearily at the Headmistress. Daphne walked over to Harry and sat by his side. She'd spent the entire night brewing potions or healing patients. When the rush had come in, Daphne had abandoned brewing potions because Professor Sutherland could handle that. Daphne was a certified healer, and she treated patients just as effectively as Madam Pomfrey.

In fact, Daphne, with Harry's help, was able to remove dark curses from quite a few patients who would have normally been left to die in the rush since the St. Mungos healers were nowhere able to send additional healers.

Madam Pomfrey had been shocked that Daphne had revealed her status as a fully certified Healer, but the woman had accepted the help gratefully.

"Miss Greengrass, you did a great job tonight."

"Thank you, Headmistress," Daphne said, stifling a yawn. "If you'll excuse me, I think my fiancé and I need to rest a bit."

Sirius walked up to Harry and saw him bloodied.

"Harry, are you ok?"

"It's not my blood," Harry said, waving his hand to indicate the blood on the floor. House elves were trying to clean up the blood already, and Sirius nodded.

"How many, Minerva?"

"Poppy said six died of their wounds, and ten more need to be transferred to St. Mungos."

"Unfortunately, St. Mungos cannot handle them right now," he said.

"Why is that?"

"Voldemort himself attacked St. Mungos and we lost a lot of healers and patients there. Most of our casualties in the Auror Corps was at St. Mungos."

"How many?"

"We estimate that over a hundred died last night," Sirius said, sadly. "Most of them were healers, Aurors, and Hit Wizards. Though there were quite a few civilian deaths as well."

McGonagall sighed and closed her eyes.

"So I have to have my hospital wing filled with patients for a while?"

"Yes," Sirius said. "Two floors of St. Mungos had to be evacuated. We will do what we can, Minerva, but I am afraid that you will have to bear the brunt of this."

"Poppy and Fleur can't handle it all."

"Then I'm sure Harry and Daphne will assist," Sirius said. "You know as well as I do that they are more than qualified to help."

"Yes, I agree," Minerva said. "Mr. Potter, Miss Greengrass, you will assist Madam Pomfrey as much as possible. I will excuse you from your classes until they do not need your assistance. And then, I would suggest that the two of you assist when you have the free time."

"Yes Professor," Daphne said. "But we will gladly do our homework to turn in when we get the chance."

"Let me worry about that, Miss Greengrass," McGonagall said. "We are in need of your skills to save lives, not write about animal to animal transfiguration."

"Harry," Sirius said, looking at the teen. "I know what you can do, and I know what Daphne can do. We may call Fleur or you to go and assist us in the field if necessary during another attack. I won't like to do that, but I will if I must."

Harry nodded.

"They'll be better off staying here and letting Madam Pomfrey go in the field with Miss Delacour," McGonagall said.

"I can't do that," Sirius said. "Minister Bones said that we are to protect all of our healers, so we will, more likely than not, send casualties here under stasis charms. I know we will lose some that way, but we will lose more lives if the healers are turned into casualties."

"Quite right," McGonagall said, not happy with the prospects of what was happening. "Mr. Potter, Miss Greengrass, go and get your rest. Then you can spell Madam Pomfrey and Miss Delacour to rest."

"Yes Professor," Daphne said.

Harry and Daphne headed to their rooms, and they cleaned themselves up. Their clothes were vanished after everything important was gotten from them. Then they ate a small breakfast before cuddling in the bed, falling asleep immediately.

* * *

In the Great Hall, McGonagall spoke.

"May I have your attention please," she said, as the students hushed to listen to what she had to say. "Last night, Death Eaters attacked several places, including Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley, St. Mungos, and the Ministry of Magic. Due to the damage at St. Mungos, and a number of healers being seriously injured or killed, the Hogwarts Hospital wing will serve as a casualty collection point and hospital. You are forbidden from going to the hospital Wing unless you are in need of medical help.

"Mr. Potter and Miss Daphne Greengrass, who were trained in field medicine this summer, are assisting Madam Pomfrey and her Apprentice, Miss Delacour. They will be excused from classes, and you are to treat them with all of the courtesy as you will Madam Pomfrey since they will be the ones most likely seeing students unless there are serious injuries.

"Unfortunately, I do not know the names of the casualties or the numbers as of yet. I know that many of you are worried about your loved ones. Rest assured that we will do our best to let you know if your loved ones are among the casualties."

McGonagall paused.

"Due to this emergency situation, all Hogsmeade Visits and Quidditch Games are canceled due to the attacks. Some of the older students will be asked to assist Professor Sutherland in brewing potions for the hospital wing. Some of you may also be asked to help Professors Sprout or Hagrid harvest potions ingredients. The rest of you are asked to remain out of the way and help when asked.

"I thank all of you in advance for your cooperation."

McGonagall sat down and the students started to chat about this.

"Why are Daphne and Harry helping the injured?"

"They are trained in field healing, Ronald," Hermione said. "You heard Professor McGonagall."

"Do you think they'll be allowed out of classes?"

"Most likely," Hermione said.

"I should be allowed out of classes," Ron exclaimed.

"Miss Granger?"

"Yes Professor," Hermione asked McGonagall.

"Can you go assist Madam Pomfrey? She needs people to help administer potions and prepare supplies."

"I can do that, Professor," Hermione said. "Where do I need to go?"

"The Hospital wing is sufficient. Madam Pomfrey or Miss Delacour will give you instructions."

Hermione nodded and stood to go help. Ron looked jealous, as Neville and Susan Bones followed Professor Sprout to the greenhouses, as the Twins followed Hagrid to help. Ron felt left out.

* * *

When Harry and Daphne relieved a weary Madam Pomfrey, they still had two dozen patients in the care of the hospital wing. Most were now in stable condition and were just waiting transfer to St. Mungos or release.

"This is a list of the patients," The weary hospital wing matron said. "None of them are in bad condition, and most will be discharged within twenty four or forty eight hours. I ask that you alert me if St. Mungos is able to accept transfers, or if we get more casualties."

"Yes Madam Pomfrey," Daphne said, as she was going to take over as the lead person on the shift.

"We will be ready for dinner and we will discuss the shifts we should take. I only think one person will need to stay awake and manage the night shift. Most likely, that will be Fleur since she has more training than the two of you."

Both nodded, but knew that it was officially because Fleur was the Healing Apprentice.

Madam Pomfrey then left to her quarters while Fleur went to sleep in a room that was off to the side for her use.

Most of the patients were surprised to see two students caring for them, but they knew Madam Pomfrey was exhausted, so they allowed them to care for her. And it was now obvious that the two were trained in field medicine, as the _Daily Prophet_ had carried the story in a special edition, which detailed the attacks and the Ministry's official response.

After the patient rounds, Daphne and Harry continued to take stock of what the Hospital wing had.

Professor Sutherland arrived and he looked around for someone.

"Where's Poppy?"

"She and Fleur are sleeping," Harry replied. "How can I help you, Professor?"

"Do you need any more potions right now? This is the last batch she asked for," he added, setting a box of phials on the table.

Daphne walked up and handed him a list.

"This is what we need," She said. "We want to stock up, just in case. Most of these potions can be shelved for several months to several years."

Professor Sutherland nodded. He was quite pleased with Daphne's knowledge of potions. And, of course, she was easy on the eyes.

"Miss Greengrass, I would like to offer you an apprenticeship in potions," the man said, giving her a look.

Daphne's eyes narrowed, as she had seen how his eyes were glued to her body when they were working together.

"Unfortunately, Professor," Daphne said. "I will have to discuss this with Harry, my betrothed," she added.

"I understand," the man said, catching her not-so-thinly-veiled hint. "I will start on these potions and get back to you. It may not be this evening, but they will be ready within a day or so."

"Thank you, Professor," Daphne said. "You have been a great help so far."

With that, the Potions Professor knew that he'd been dismissed by Daphne. He shook his head, and he saw Harry looking at him with a slight coldness in his eyes. With Harry's eyes being without glasses due to his contacts, the professor shuddered thinking about the pain and suffering the eyes promised him if he didn't leave Daphne alone. With that, the twenty four year old Professor decided it was best that he leave the students alone and get back to his job after his brush with a lot of pain.

Daphne smirked as the professor left the room, especially when she saw Harry's eyes.

"Harry, darling," Daphne said. "You don't have to stare down the Professor."

"I know, luv," Harry replied. "I didn't like how he looked at you."

"I think he got the message," Headmistress McGonagall said, dryly. "I will speak with Professor Sutherland to ensure that he has his mind on his job and not inappropriate things. How are things?"

"We're doing well here, Professor," Daphne said. "Just restocking while the patients rest. Madam Pomfrey left a list and we don't have to do much other than to clean wounds and apply a few slaves or potions before she'll be ready again."

"I understand," McGonagall said. "Please let me know if you need something. The house elves are ready to help as well."

"We could use a few more bandages," Daphne said, consulting a list.

"What kind," McGonagall asked.

"This is the list of what Madam Pomfrey noted, and what I noted," Daphne said. "Would it be amiss if we prepared for another night like last night?"

"No, it would not," McGonagall said. "I will get Miss Granger and a few students to work on this. They will help you stock the shelves when we get the supplies."

"Thank you, Professor," Daphne said. "If you'll excuse me, I have to administer a few potions."

With that, Harry and Daphne went to administer the potions that would heal the injuries of their patients. McGonagall watched with interest, and realized that these two students were leagues ahead of their fellow students. The only thing she regretted at this time was that she couldn't do anything to reward them since this wasn't really a Hogwarts event. It was more of a Ministry event. With a thought in her mind, McGonagall smiled and left to continue her rounds and to recruit several trusted students to help.


	15. Mr Smith meets Madam Bones

When Madam Pomfrey arrived at the Hospital Wing from a late dinner, and a rest period, she looked over the patient notes and watched as Harry and Daphne completed the round of potions. Madam Pomfrey motioned for Harry to let her finish, and he let her complete the job with one of the worst patients.

"How are things?"

"We've restocked the Hospital Wing, and Professor Sutherland is brewing the list of potions you need," Daphne said. "I have a few potions simmering under Hermione's watch as well."

"Which potions?"

"Skele-Gro and an anti-inflammatory," Daphne said. "Mrs. Flume's leg has started to swell."

Madam Pomfrey nodded.

"What have you done?"

"I've administered the last dose of anti-inflammatory, and Professor Sutherland said he couldn't add anything else to the brew right now."

"I see," Madam Pomfrey said. "Let me examine Mrs. Flume and we'll see what's going on."

With that, Daphne was back at work while Harry worked with Fleur to treat a student who had gotten in a fight and had boils growing off of her hands and arms. The teen didn't mind Harry treating her, but the teen was smart enough to ask Fleur to help. Fleur was more than happy to help, much to the disdain of the student, a sixth year Slytherin.

Harry removed the hex easily, and Fleur smiled at him as she applied the proper potion to the student to reduce the itching form where the boils were.

After that, there was an influx of students with injuries from a fight in the Great Hall, and Madam Pomfrey sighed.

Ron, who had started it, was lying in the infirmary with a broken leg and tentacles growing from his face. Harry was assigned this case since it was one of the worst, and Madam Pomfrey wanted him to handle the guys for obvious reasons.

"Harry, why won't a healer see me," Ron demanded.

"I'm as good as you'll get for now, Ron," Harry said. "This is a spell, and I'm better at removing spells than I am anything else."

Ron glared at Harry, and frowned. He'd wanted a pretty nurse.

After removing the growth, and giving Ron Skele-Gro for the broken leg, Harry left to take care of additional patients. The Skele-Gro would make Ron think about fighting, and Harry had decided to let the redhead taste the horrible potion and feel the horrible feelings of the potion working.

Harry's next patient was Neville, who had been injured helping Hermione try to stop the fight. He had a broken wrist.

"Hi Harry," Neville said. "What will you do?"

"Let me check, Neville," Harry said, waving his wand. Harry examined the break and nodded.

"I can't quite do this one since it's near too many nerves," Harry said. "I'll let Fleur handle this."

Neville smiled as Fleur walked over at Harry's summon.

"Broken wrist," Harry said. Fleur nodded. Broken wrists could be dangerous if healed incorrectly, so she knew Harry was right to let her handle it since she had more finesse with healing magic.

Shortly, the students were on their way back to their common rooms, and most of them had already been chastised by the professors. However, Hermione entered and she was crying.

"What's wrong, Hermione?"

"She was hit by a horrible spell that doubles one's feminine problems," Cho Chang said, grimacing. "Draco Malfoy."

"I see," Harry said. "I don't know what to do with this, so I'll let Daphne take care of you."

Hermione nodded, and Daphne walked over at Harry's wave, as she'd just gotten through with another patient.

"I'll take care of Hermione, Harry," Daphne said. "You take care of Dumb and Dumber," she said, indicating the Twins. "They had a charmed product backfire."

Harry nodded and walked over.

"So, gentlemen," Harry asked. "What were you testing?"

"We were testing a canary cream when someone hit it with an extra spell," Fred said, as he was covered with feathers.

George agreed, but he couldn't speak because he had a beak instead of a mouth.

"Do you know what the other spell was?"

"I think it was a permanence spell," Fred said, nervously.

Harry nodded.

"Well, if you'll give me a few minutes, I'll examine you and see what I can do."

After a few minutes, Harry knew what he needed to do. But he wanted Madam Pomfrey's opinion. She walked over seeing the Twins, knowing what kind of things they could get up to.

"What happened this time?"

"They were testing one of their products, a canary cream, when someone hit it with what they think is a permanence hex."

"Mr. Potter, what do you think?"

"It can be removed, but it will be quite painful to do so," he said. "If you examine them, it was almost as if it's a forced partial animagus transformation."

"Ah yes," Madam Pomfrey said, as she examined the patients. "I'd like to get Filius and Minerva on this one. I don't think they're in danger and we should take it a bit longer, just to prolong their suffering. They send so many people to me."

Harry chuckled as he went to the Floo. A few minutes later, McGonagall and Flitwick were brought him to help counter the spell. It took McGonagall just five minutes to change each one back, and she took them to her office for a lecture after Madam Pomfrey filled them full of potions and released them to free up space.

* * *

When the weekend ended, Harry and Daphne were told they could return to classes since most of the patients had been discharged from the hospital wing. The few that were there were easily handled by Fleur and Madam Pomfrey, who had worked out night shift duties between the two.

Harry spent his first lesson with Madam Pomfrey, learning advanced healing methods that he had not learned before. She wanted to see where he was and teach him more healing spells. Daphne spent her free time in the hospital wing as well, and she helped teach Harry spells, and Madam Pomfrey was determined to find out where she was in her medical education as well.

By Friday, Professor McGonagall had found a few NEWT students who wanted to learn healing, and Madam Pomfrey and Fleur would teach them basic first aid so they could help in a crisis like the previous one. While one or both taught the class, Harry and Daphne would staff the hospital wing to treat students who were injured and to watch the one patient who was going to be transferred to the long-term care ward at St. Mungos the following morning.

Harry's studies had continued, and Madam Pomfrey was glad that he had a tremendous knowledge of curses. It really helped when another fight left two students with so many curses on them that Madam Pomfrey had a hard time deciphering what they were. Harry was able to do so, and he removed the curses one by one.

Madam Pomfrey praised him for his knowledge of curses and hexes, and she told him that he would make a great spell damage healer. She would guide his training to the spell damage and dark magic area, since he was knowledgeable in those areas. Daphne's forte was potions, wildlife, and plant life injuries, which complemented Harry's knowledge. Both could do routine and general healing, and Madam Pomfrey didn't know what to make of the two teens.

* * *

One evening in October, Harry and Daphne were walking back to their room after a shift in the hospital wing. They heard a noise in a closet and decided to check it out.

When Harry opened the door, a very naked Ginny Weasley was on her back, and in the 69 position with Dean Thomas.

"Miss Weasley, Mr. Thomas!" Harry said.

The two jumped up in a hurry.

"It wasn't what you think it was," Dean said, as he grabbed his clothes.

"That will be twenty points from Gryffindor and a week's worth of detentions," Daphne said.

"But…"

"Each," Harry said. "I would give you a harsher punishment if it was in my authority."

"I agree," Daphne said. "Not get back to your common room. You can expect your Head of House and the Headmistress to speak with you about further punishment tomorrow."

Both students blushed.

"Harry, you wouldn't punish Gryffindor that bad, would you," Ginny asked.

"Get dressed and get back to your common room, now," Harry said. "Oh, before I forget, that's ten more points each and a night's detention for being out past curfew. And ten more points each for being out of bounds."

After they were dressed, Ginny and Dean hurried out, and Harry followed them on the Marauder's Map, to Daphne's delight.

"How should we write it up?"

Harry smiled slightly and then took out his patrol notebook and wrote down the time and date.

_Date: Oct. 15, 1995_

_Time: 23:14_

_Students: Ginny Weasley (Gryffindor), Dean Thomas (Gryffindor)_

_Location: 4__th__ Floor Corridor broom cupboard, between Potter-occupied Quarters and library_

_Violation: Out after Curfew, Out of Bounds, out of school uniform (nude), inappropriate acts of a sexual nature  
_

_Action taken: loss of 40 points per student (20 sexual activity, 10 curfew violation, 10 out of bounds), Six nights of detention per student to be assigned by Head of House/Headmistress (5 sexual activity, 1 curfew violation), verbal warning to return to common room._

_Further punishment recommended: Further loss of points, further detention, notification of parents, two weeks restricted to common room outside of class hours and meal times. _

_Prefects present: H. Potter, D. Greengrass-Potter_

Daphne read Harry's recommendations on the punishments and smiled.

"I like how you recommended that their parents be notified. I'm sure Professor McGonagall will remove fifty points each and give them more detentions."

"I know she will," Harry said. "Let's get back to our quarters."

"And make love," Daphne said, with a smirk. "It is ok for us to make love as long as I don't get pregnant."

Harry nodded and smirked. He really loved Daphne's sense of humor.

* * *

The next morning, Harry and Daphne were asked to visit with Professor McGonagall before classes.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Greengrass, I want to speak with you about Mr. Thomas and Miss Weasley."

Harry nodded.

"What questions do you have, Professor?"

"What were they doing?"

"They were in a broom cupboard. They were performing oral sex on each other, completely nude."

"I see," McGonagall, said, pursing her lips. "And I see that you made the curfew violation and out of bounds violation separate offenses."

"I thought I would compound their problems, Professor," Harry said. "I didn't want to dock so many points, but you would have docked them a hundred points each, and may still do so."

"You are correct, Mr. Potter. I have docked them sixty additional points each and they will serve three more weeks of detention. I will also take your recommendation to contact their parents for appropriate punishment and to inform their parents that they are on probation for the rest of the school year."

"So any further violations of the rules will result in suspension?"

"Yes Miss Greengrass," McGonagall said. "Who docked the points?"

"I was going to take twenty off, but Harry decided it should be each."

"And Mr. Potter was correct," McGonagall said. "I know you were in the hospital wing until late, and Madam Pomfrey has kept me alerted to your schedule so you won't be out of place or get in trouble."

The two prefects nodded.

"Further, since both of you are now apprentices, I will trust you with more authority to remove points and give detentions. You may now remove up to fifty points per student and give up to two weeks worth of detentions, pending my approval. I do expect you to continue to write down punishments in your notebooks, as I use this for every professor and staff member to monitor their use of the points system.

"You will have no curfew, as you can be called to the hospital wing in the event your assistance is needed for any reason. I expect that the two of you will not abuse this privilege."

"We won't, Professor," Daphne promised.

The fire flared to life, and a voice came over.

"Headmistress McGonagall?"

"Yes Arthur?"

"Molly said that you wished to speak with us about our daughters actions?"

"Yes I did. Come on through, Arthur."

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley exited out of the fire a moment after Mr. Weasley's head left.

"Harry, what a surprise," Mr. Weasley said. "It's good to see you again."

"And good to see you again, Mr. Weasley," Harry said, shaking the man's hand.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Greengrass, I want you to stay for this."

The two nodded, and Harry stood.

"Professor, permission to conjure a love seat?" Harry asked McGonagall. It would be rude to use magic in her office without asking.

"Granted," McGonagall said, turning her attention to Harry for a moment.

The teen waved his wand and a comfortable love seat appeared. The seat was green, with a snuggling silver boar and phoenix in the middle of each cushion. Daphne grinned at Harry before moving out of the chairs to sit in the love seat Harry conjured.

"That's a great job, Mr. Potter," McGonagall said after examining the love seat for a moment. "I can see that your training with me isn't going to waste."

"No it isn't, Professor."

"Mr. Potter is a Charms, Transfiguration, and Healing Apprentice," McGonagall explained to the Weasleys.

"Minerva, I wish I had time to chat, but I must return to work as soon as I can."

"I understand, Arthur. Please, have a seat."

"What did Ginevra do," Molly asked.

"Mr. Potter?"

"We caught her and Dean Thomas out after curfew last night," Harry said. "She and Mr. Thomas were unclothed and engaged in simultaneous oral sex."

Molly paled and Arthur blinked in surprise.

"I was there as well," Daphne said.

"What were you two doing out," Molly asked, accusingly.

"Molly, as Healer Apprentices, Mr. Potter and Mrs. Greengrass-Potter were returning from a shift in the hospital wing. Poppy keeps me up to date with their schedule."

"I see," the woman said. "Why is it you wanted me here?"

"I wanted to inform you that if your daughter breaks any more rules that loses her twenty points or gains a week's detention this year for a single event, she will be suspended from Hogwarts for two weeks. This will also remove her from any extracurricular activities all year and she will no longer be eligible for a student leadership position for he remaining time at Hogwarts. Further, she will be on probation for the rest of her time at Hogwarts if she is suspended. Expulsion is the next step after suspension.

"I have arranged to meet with Mr. Thomas' parents to inform them of this later today. And I will speak with Mr. Thomas and Miss Weasley after lunch to inform them of their further punishment and their probation for the remainder of the year."

"I will speak to her," Molly said.

"I would hope so," McGonagall said. "This is all I had to say, but I wanted to tell you in person."

"Thank you, Minerva," Arthur said, sadly. "I trust that you will ensure that she truly deserves her punishment if she gets it."

"I will, Arthur," Minerva said in a sympathetic voice. "As it stands, she and Mr. Thomas lost a combined two hundred points from Gryffindor, and will each have four week's worth of detentions served with various professors. I have also taken the step to restrict them to their common room for two weeks when they aren't in classes, in a designated study hall, or in meals. If they violate these provisions, they will be suspended automatically since breaking restriction is an automatic fifty point deduction and two weeks' worth of detention, which they will be assessed in addition to the suspension."

"May I speak with my daughter today?"

"Certainly," McGonagall said. "She has a free hour next period, and we can speak with her together, if you'd like. Mr. Potter, Mrs. Greengrass-Potter, you are dismissed. This note will get you in your classes."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry said, taking the note. "Have a good day, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Headmistress."

"You too, Harry, Miss Greengrass," Arthur said. "Oh, Harry, Minister Bones will be coming to speak with you and your betrothed this afternoon. She asked me to alert you that she will be coming."

"Thank you," Harry said, giving the man a nod. "I will await her call."

* * *

When Minister Bones arrived, Harry and Daphne were in the hospital wing for one of their lessons. Harry's lessons had been aimed more toward healing after he admitted that he wouldn't mind becoming a Dark Magic specialist. He still met with Aberforth three mornings a week, as well as Professor Flitwick and McGonagall once a week to continue his training in Combat Magic, Charms, and Transfiguration.

"Hello, Minister," Harry said, as he saw her enter the Hospital wing with Professor McGonagall.

"Good afternoon, Minister," Daphne said, with a smile.

"Mr. Potter, Mrs. Greengrass-Potter," the Minister said, with a smile. "Madam Pomfrey, would you mind if I steal your apprentices for a few moments?"

"Not at all, Minister," The woman said to her classmate. "I was just finishing up a lesson and they were about to go and brew a potion for me."

Amelia smiled, and McGonagall motioned for them to follow.

When they were in a private area, Minister Bones started.

"Permission to put up privacy charms," Harry asked.

"Certainly," McGonagall said.

Harry took out his wand and waved it a few times, muttering incantations. Several flashes of magic accompanied his wand work, and, when he was done, he nodded to the Minister and put his wand back in the holster.

The Minister paused a moment in surprise, as she recognized all of those spells, and even some of her Aurors had a hard time with those privacy spells. But her reason for being here was probably the reason he knew all of those spells in the first place.

"I am surprised that the two of you are already apprentices," she said. "When I had Alastor do some research, he came up with several implausible things that happened for you. For instance, the two of you have graduation certificates from the Merlin Academy of Advanced Magic. Mr. Potter has Mastery Certificates in Combat Magic, Dueling, Warding, and Curse-breaking, as well as Journeyman status in Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, and Healing. Mrs. Greengrass-Potter has Mastery Certificates in Healing, Potions, and Herbology.

"Is that true?"

"It is," Harry said, seeing no reason to lie to her. "I guess the charms that were to hide our identities ended when we returned to our own time."

"I would say so, Mr. Potter," Minister Bones said. "If it wasn't the Goblin Nation involved, I would have both of you in Azkaban right now for the illegal time travel. I have spoken with Director Ragnok and President Greenfist, and both vouched for you. I have received copies of your examination scores, as well as your Gringotts Marriage certificate and oath to not meddle with time."

McGonagall pursed her lips. If she hadn't known about their training, she would have been most upset.

"Minister, can I ask that you don't reveal any of that?"

"I have no intention of doing so right now, Mr. Potter," the woman said, causing both teens to sigh in relief. "I just wanted to clarify what happened with you before I did anything. This is called investigating, you know."

Harry smirked and nodded.

"Your predecessor would have just thrown me in prison and damn the law and consequences," Harry said, getting a nod from the Minister. "What will happen now?"

"Gringotts, the appropriate Guilds, and the Merlin Academy have agreed to seal your records from being released until you turn twenty years old," she said. "At that time, I would expect that you will have made a press release stating that Gringotts allowed you to time travel as goblin friends to seek extracurricular training in order to prepare for the conflict with You-Know-Who. I hope he has been defeated by that time."

"I hope so too, Minister," Harry said. "Does Sirius know you are aware of this? We have fully briefed him on our travels because he could help us."

"I spoke with him this morning after Alastor got back to me," Minister Bones said. "This information has been declared an Omega level secret since you do have a prophecy about you, Mr. Potter. I am aware of it, though I am not aware of the full contents. I know as much as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. I might add this prophecy is a State Secret as well."

"Daphne and Sirius are the only ones that know the full prophecy. I told them so I would have some help dealing with it."

"That's understandable, Mr. Potter. Or shall I say Mr. Smith?"

Harry smiled weakly at the Minister.

"I still need to question you about your actions in Diagon Alley. I won't question you about Romania because that is outside of our jurisdiction and the local authorities did not file charges against you."

"What would you like to know," Harry asked.

"Can I see a copy of your memory of the events in Diagon Alley?"

Harry nodded and concentrated on the memory. He brought his wand to his temple and withdrew the memory strand. He placed it in a vial the McGonagall helpfully provided.

"What questions do you have for me," Harry asked. "I can't tell you the names of many of the spells I used because of a contract I signed with the goblins."

"Goblin Battle Magic," Amelia asked.

Harry nodded.

"That's all I can say without breaking the contract."

"We don't need you breaking a goblin contract, Mr. Potter," McGonagall said, as the Minister agreed.

"Minister, Headmistress, if we can go to our quarters, I can show you a few more things that you will want to know about," Harry said.

"What are you talking about, Harry," Daphne asked.

"You know, the papers we were given."

"Yes, I know now," Daphne said. "That's a good idea."

"Don't tell me the two of you are animagi," Amelia said, groaning. "Please tell me that I won't have to haul you in for this?"

"We have papers to show you about that," Harry said.

After disabling the privacy charms in the room with a wave of his hand, Harry led them to their quarters.

"Potter's Hidden Paradise," he said to the guardian, and the door swung open. Daphne smirked.

"Fleur's idea," she said to the elder women. "Harry, dear, get the papers and I'll play the host."

"Ok, luv," Harry said, as he disappeared in their room while Daphne put on a pot of tea.

"Will we need to be here that long?"

"I presume that you will have questions," Daphne said. "But I do ask that none of you reveal this due to the prophecy. And I think our animagus forms should be kept secret unless the press finds out."

"And why is that?"

A Royal Phoenix landed on the table with a thick folder. The Minister almost fainted when she realized who it was.

Harry flew off of the table and transformed back before taking a seat.

"I can see why," the Minister said, dryly. "Mr. Potter, that is quite a surprise. And the last magical animagus was Godric Gryffindor."

"As far as we know, that is true for this country," Harry said. "Dumbledore was quite powerful enough to have a magical animagus form, but there is no guarantee he could have made it," Harry said. "And Voldemort may have a magical animagus form as well, but, again, there is no guarantee he has the ability to use it."

"Well said, Mr. Potter," McGonagall said. "You surprise me yet again. So tell me, why are you studying with Aberforth?"

"He knows a lot of esoteric spells that can be used in combat," Harry said. "I know a lot of lethal spells, but I'm sure Minister Bones would prefer that I use nonlethal spells if possible."

"You are correct, Mr. Potter," the woman said. "And the practice is always helpful as well."

"Yes," Harry said. "For me, it has been eight long years since I have studied combat magic extensively. I have studied healing, wards, and curse-breaking since then."

"So you may have forgotten a few things?"

"That's a very safe bet to make, Minister," Harry said, as he opened his folder. "This document is my citizenship papers of the Veela Nation. Daphne and I were made citizens of the Veela Nation after our summer of training there with several of the top Veela in various fields. Along with this, we were deemed legal adults will full portkey, apparating, and animagus rights." Harry said, handing the Minister the proper certificates. "At your discretion, we will copy these papers and send in our applications for the appropriate documents."

"Do you have any more?"

"Yes. We also have concurrent rights for Antarctica, Egypt, and the United States due to our employment with Gringotts and attendance at the Merlin Academy of Magic. These are the proper documents."

"What's this," McGonagall asked, pointing to a document.

"This is my certification as an American Hit Wizard," Harry said. "I had to attend the training program before I could do contract work for the American Government for two years. I have full certification as a Field Healer in the United States."

"Isn't a Field Healer just a year of training below a healer," Amelia asked.

"Yes Minister," Daphne said. "I am a full healer and a full potions mistress. Harry specialized in field medicine to heal patients in the field and I would say that he is as good as any healers who graduated from St. Mungos. He just isn't as sure in some areas as I am."

"There are some things I don't handle well," Harry said. "One area would be pregnancy and related complications. I would rather someone else handle them. And I need more training in healing broken bones and a few other ailments that require fine magic control. I have a lot of control, but I don't yet trust myself to heal certain things."

"Madam Pomfrey is helping him learn to heal those things," Daphne said. "She has also gotten us provisional permission to enroll in the Pre-Healer Internship at St. Mungos this summer."

"I am willing to show my Field Healer Certification at the end of the year, as Madam Pomfrey is capable of signing off on those certificates," Harry said. "As it is, I was given certification as a Basic Field Healer by the Veela over the summer, without using time modification. By the end of the year, Madam Pomfrey said she would be willing to sign off on my Intermediate Field Healer Certificate after I take the exam. And I will have my Expert Field Healer Certificate by the end of my time at Hogwarts."

"Madam Pomfrey is one of the premier Field Healers in Europe," McGonagall said. "And you are in the right place to study that field."

"I agree," Minister Bones said. "Have you decided on a career yet?"

"No ma'am," Harry said. "We have so many things at our disposal that we have considered returning to Gringotts for a few years."

"That is after our legal and public wedding once we turn seventeen. I think I like that idea, as Harry was a team leader before we resigned from Gringotts. Of course, when the children start coming, I would like to have a steady job."

"There will be a job here waiting for you, I can assure you of that," McGonagall said. "It may not be at Hogwarts or the Ministry, but there will be a job waiting for you."

"And if Mr. Potter defeats the Dark Lord," Amelia said. "I know I will bend over backwards to hire him if he wants to be an Auror or a Ministry Field Healer."

"Harry can do so many things," Daphne said, proudly. "He is much more versatile than I am. I can do potions and healing, though I am capable of defending myself and earning NEWTs in most subjects at Hogwarts. If you want someone to remove a curse from an item or person, put up a ward, or take down an enemy, you want Harry. He can also brew potions like veritaserum and Wolfsbane."

"Those require a Potions Master, Mr. Potter."

"At the Merlin Academy, all students in the Advanced Combat Magic track were required to brew those potions," Harry said. "And under Daphne's tutelage, I earned my Journeyman's in Potions."

"Harry could become a potions master if he wanted to," Daphne said. "But he doesn't have the mind set to do so. He is an action oriented person. Or at least spell-oriented. He'd rather be in the field or studying a spell rather than watching a potion."

"You've got that one right," Harry said, getting a smile from Daphne.

The two women smiled at the byplay of the lovers.

"Being so, Mr. Potter, I now wish to speak with you about your actions as Mr. Smith. We need to continue, as we are all busy people."

"Sorry," Harry said.

"Don't be," McGonagall said. "This conversation has been quite enlightening. If we do this the correct way, we may be able to work out a scheme so that you can take your NEWT exams and study under professors here for your certificates to hide your true studies."

"I won't study under Sutherland," Daphne said. "I hate how his eyes are glued to me. And I fear that Harry will remove those eyes if he isn't careful."

Harry nodded.

"I will speak with him again," McGonagall said. "I can guarantee that we will be searching for a new potions Professor. Professor Sutherland has lapsed in his duties to help in the hospital wing brewing potions, leaving it all to you. Legally, you can brew them as a potions mistress, but we wish to keep that under wraps."

"I don't mind brewing at all," Daphne said. "And Harry knows his way around a cauldron to brew a lot of healing potions and potions one needs in Combat Magic or Law Enforcement. The regulations state that a Journeyman in Potions may be certified to brew certain potions by the appropriate category. And all Field Healers at the Intermediate Level are Journeymen in Potions as a prerequisite."

"I will look into it, Mrs. Greengrass-Potter," Minster Bones said. "Now, Mr. Smith."

Harry smiled slightly as the Minister paused to consider her next question for him.


	16. Death of a Light Legend

**AN: This Chapter has been edited slightly to add in something that should have been there at the end. It is only the last three paragraphs or so.  
**

"Mr. Potter, why did you choose to use lethal spells against the Death Eaters? ," Minster Bones asked, as she looked at Harry across the table.

"Minister, I know that you would prefer non-lethal spells. So would I. But this is a war. In a war, we have to fight to kill our enemies before they kill us. If you watch the memory, each of those Death Eaters had murdered or attempted to murder civilians. And if you pay attention, they gang up on me and start to wake up those I had stunned.

"In this case, it was better to take them out of the fight permanently than let so many murderers get away."

"I understand, Mr. Potter, but that was right before I was able to consolidate the power away from the blood purists that Fudge employed. There was a call for your arrest on the charges of murder by several members of the Wizengamot, most of whom were later revealed to be Death Eaters or supporters. I have to ask these questions."

"I know," Harry said. "From what I understand of the law, I have a right to defend myself and others. The Death Eaters were using the Dark Arts. If the Ministry expect me to fight Voldemort or defend myself against wizards using Battle Spells using a stunning spell, I'll leave Hogwarts with my ladies and we'll live elsewhere under the Fidelius Charm, and let this damned country die out."

"Mr. Potter, that is treasonous talk," Minister Bones said, as McGonagall's temper seemed to flare.

"No, Minister," Daphne said, interrupting. "It's common sense. If anyone who fights against the Death Eaters using potentially lethal spells is arrested and charged for the crimes, then my husband and I will leave this country and live elsewhere. We do not want to live in a country where one can be arrested for defending themselves against someone trying to kill them. After all, our presence here is a mere formality due to our legal ages, not our actual ages."

"In this case," Minister Bones said, trying to gain control of her logic and accusations. "You are correct in that you have the right to use potentially lethal spells in retaliation for someone trying to kill you or another innocent. In fact, if someone uses a spell against you, then you can use a spell of the same level legally. The Old Laws allow for someone to use the killing curse against those who use the killing curse, and so forth. So if someone uses battle magic against you, you can use battle magic against them, though the normal use of battle magic is illegal. The Ministry and Wizengamot sometimes forget this law is on the books and people just defending themselves have been placed in prison for life for hitting another wizard with the killing curse in self defense."

"Then we should have a campaign to educate people that they can defend themselves without fear of prosecution as long as they do not go overboard," Harry said. "I am experienced enough in law and combat magic to recognize the spells I can and cannot use, as I had several hours of study of escalating magic so I would know what I could use. Most countries have laws such as these to protect those who use potentially illegal magic to defend themselves."

"The point is the magic is illegal," the Minister said. "That is why so many who defended themselves were put in prison."

Harry nodded.

"Yes, I know," he replied. "I'm glad you understand this. And since you are the Minister, you can educate the public about the laws that are on the books without being questioned. I would, however, stress that using illegal magic will be carefully scrutinized to see if it was warranted."

"I would suggest that you interview the survivors with veritaserum in those cases," Daphne said.

"I can agree with that, Mrs. Greengrass-Potter. I will start to educate my people about the laws the can prosecute people under in the case of self-defense. However, I don't think I will let the public know that the law means they can use the killing curse if someone uses it against them. That would be too dangerous, and too many bystanders could get injured if that happened."

"Yes, I agree," Harry said. "But the percentage of the population that could cast a killing curse is much smaller than those who could successfully cast the Imperious Curse, for example. Battle Magic is just that, for battles. I understand where you are coming from.

"And I will say that if I am ever in a battle, I will stick with using legal forms of magic, even if some of it is questionable. You will find, if you do your research on the spells I used, that I used no illegal spells. Some of them are frowned upon, yes, but none of them were illegally used."

"How is that the case? Some of the magic you used is illegal if you use a Latin-based incantation."

"Simple. You must make each incantation illegal," Harry said. "The law requires that, and one cannot ban entire classes of magic without naming each and every spell. That is why there are so many legal Dark Arts spells that one can use if you carefully examine the laws. The blanket prosecution for the illegal use of magic should bank on the intent of the user in the cases of those who use the Dark Arts that are not explicitly named as illegal spells."

"I have not heard this argument before, Mr. Potter. Can you give me some examples of where this logic is true?"

"Plenty of examples," Harry said.

He summoned a piece of parchment and a pen. Then he wrote down several spells off the top of his head. He handed the list to Minister Bones.

"What do you think of these spells?"

"Off the top of my head, I would arrest you for using them. They're Dark spells."

"But if you read the letter of the law, they are not illegal," Harry said. "I know because I wrote a term paper on the legal uses of Dark Arts spells in the United Kingdom. However, I'm not saying you should tell everyone this is the case; but you should carefully examine spells to know which ones are illegal.

"Under the current laws, even, say, a modified killing curse would be legal due to the need for spells to be explicitly named. You could charge them for murder, just like if I used a levitation charm on someone and dropped them from several hundred feet in the air. But the spell itself would not be illegal."

"This will require deep thought, Mr. Potter," Minister Bones said. "I have never heard of this argument, and I have never thought of it this way. I will consider what you say and will get back to you on this. Are there many more spells that are this way?"

"Potentially hundreds," Harry said. "But if you name all of them illegal, then you will have more felons than you will have prison space. For example, many healing spells or cooking spells can be used to torture someone if you know what you are doing. That use of the spells is dark, but using those same spells to heal or cook is not. You should carefully consider your options."

"So you suggest that I should have intent-based laws on hand? And we should question everyone as to their intent when using the spells?"

"Exactly. But there should be very careful consideration on how to apply this. Maybe you should convene a panel of legal experts and magic experts to examine the current laws and see how the laws can be changed so that the intent of the spell caster is what gets them put in prison, not the spell itself. However, there are spells that should be highly restricted, such as the spells that were designed only for torture or murder. But that will be hard to prove.

"Again, great care should be taken so blanket banning of spells doesn't happen just because people consider them to be dark due to one dark lord or lady."

Daphne spoke before Minister Bones could say another comment.

"Minister, you do have to consider that this will take years to consider. It has been part of a debate that many have had before us, and will continue to have after we are gone. You don't have to be the one to solve it, but you need to keep this very real issue in mind."

"I see," Minister Bones said. "I am glad we had this discussion, Mr. Potter. I can firmly say that the law is on your side with your actions in Diagon Alley. I just ask that you consider using less violent spells if there is any way you can do so safely. And next time, don't run away after taking out Death Eaters. Leaving the scene of such an incident will plant the idea in some that you are guilty of using illegal magic. And, in that event, the Aurors will bring you in for questioning and are more likely to find a law to use against you."

A very thoughtful Minister and Headmistress left the room with many more questions unanswered than they had answered. And, once the door closed, Harry hit the floor with a very happy Daphne kissing him firmly on the lips.

* * *

After the meeting with the Minister and a rousing round of love-making, Harry and Daphne had a firmer plan about what they would do in the future. They were going to continue their current course of action at Hogwarts, and, of course, they were going to consider how to reveal to the public about what happened over the summer. It was obvious to all of them they had to consider this and write a press release that would be sent out once Voldemort died, or the Ministry wanted them to publicly claim what they had done.

They discussed the plans for a while after their love-making, and while Harry dressed for a House meeting that Professor Burbage had called for all Gryffindors. Since he was still a titular Gryffindor, he was required to attend the meeting. McGonagall had been sure to inform him that this was the case until they considered their options again due to the unique situation they were in.

After getting dressed and kissing his lover, Harry headed to the Gryffindor Common Room for a House meeting since he was still considered a student. He got to the Fat Lady and said the password, "Galloping Gargoyles", and the portrait swung open.

He set foot in the common room and he was immediately accosted by Ginny.

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING GETTING ME IN TROUBLE, POTTER?"

"My job, Miss Weasley," Harry said, in a cool tone. "I would appreciate it if you don't yell at me."

"Potter," Ron spat. "Why did you lie about Ginny? She's not a Scarlet Woman, unlike that bitch of yours."

Harry turned and faced Ron.

"Mr. and Miss Weasley, five points from Gryffindor for unfounded accusations and inappropriate language," Harry said, in a cool tone. "Miss Weasley, you should remember you can lose twenty points if you continue to yell at me. And you know that will mean your suspension from Hogwarts."

"And I will agree with his punishment," Hermione said, standing with her arms crossed. "I am tired of hearing you and Ron complain about how Harry lied to the Headmistress about you just because you don't like his betrothed."

"He's doing this to get back at me for hating his bitch," Ginny spat at Hermione.

"Enough!" Harry said, in a loud voice. "One more comment like that and I will take away ten more points from Gryffindor, Miss Weasley. If you'd like, I can show your parents, your brothers, and the rest of Gryffindor the entire scene to see if they agree with me. I do have a projection pensieve in my quarters and I can go and get it. And I will swear an oath that the memory I show is nothing but the truth. That way, we can let the house decide who is right or wrong in this case."

Dean and Ginny blushed deeply, and Ginny didn't say another word. There was a deep silence that was interrupted by Professor Burbage's entrance in the common room.

"What's going on here, Mr. Potter? I can heard the lively discussion down the hall."

"Professor," Harry said. "Miss Weasley and Mr. Weasley accused me of lying about an incident with Miss Weasley last night using inappropriate language."

"Is that true, Miss Bell? Miss Granger?"

"Yes Professor," The two prefects said together.

"Very well," the Muggle Studies Professor said. "Mr. Weasley, Miss Weasley, I will expect you in my office tomorrow to discuss your actions as of late. I have seen your names in the morning prefect reports too often for my liking. If I see you in the report any more after tomorrow for bad behavior, I will remove fifty points from each of you for your continued bad behavior. And you, Miss Weasley, should note that this will result in your suspension from Hogwarts.

"As it is now, Gryffindor is in negative points, primarily because of Mr. Thomas, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Weasley. But that doesn't mean none of the rest of you are to blame either. I do not like that because you are not acting like Gryffindors. You are acting like spoiled children. This is the point of the house meeting I called.

"Mr. Potter, would you please read me the names of the people who have been in the Prefect Report for the last week?"

"Yes Professor," Harry said. He opened his Prefect Report book and read the names of the Gryffindor students from the last weekly report sent from the Headmistress's office.

Harry went on to read quite a few names on the list. In all, thirty six of the approximately seventy Gryffindors had been on report at least once in the past week for fighting or other inappropriate conduct.

"As you can see, quite a few of you have run afoul of the rules. If you continue this, then Professor McGonagall will not allow our House to participate in Quidditch or in Hogsmeade weekends. And, as long as we have fewer than a hundred house points, all of you will be required to be here in the Common Room studying if you are not in class, in the hospital wing, or at a meal. There will be no moving about the castle unless you have a reason to do so.

"Mr. Potter is the only exception to this rule, as he is an Apprentice and has extra duties that prefects don't have. And he also has correspondingly less free time to do his homework and study.

"Do you have any questions?"

"The other prefects are abusing their authority," Ron said.

"Mr. Weasley, the Gryffindor Prefects are the ones who are reporting you the most," Professor Burbage said. "Mr. Potter and Miss Granger have reported most of you for breaking the rules, and they have enforced the rules fairly. Upon request, they provide copies of their memories of an incident to review the appropriateness of the punishments, and they have been spot on with their punishments."

"Why does Potter get to be exempt from this? He's a part of this house just like everyone else."

"Miss Weasley," Professor Burbage said. "Mr. Potter is an apprentice. As an Apprentice, he has given up Quidditch and even his status as a student of Hogwarts. He also gives up a lot of his free time to study for his Apprenticeships and has duties to perform in the hospital wing supporting Madam Pomfrey and Apprentice Delacour.

"However, he is also still considered a Gryffindor until he gains his certificate of completion."

"Professor, but he is living with his girlfriend," another student said.

"Mr. Potter and Mrs. Greengrass-Potter have a legal relationship that allows them to do so," the Professor said. "Professor McGonagall is satisfied with the legality of the relationship, and they have been warned about appropriate conduct. If the Headmistress has no complaints, then we don't have any reason to do anything about it.

"This isn't about Mr. Potter, however. This is about how all of you are breaking the rules. Even the Slytherin House has toned down many of their actions. And you have been spotted starting several fights. I am tired of that happening. The next time one of you starts a fight, I will restrict everyone to the common room for two months after we have over a hundred house points.

"The Headmistress is also tired of the fights, and she has considered suspending every person who starts a fight. And remember, suspension means that you will be stripped of your leadership duties and you may even be restricted from participating in extracurricular activities, should we resume them during your time at Hogwarts.

"Tomorrow morning, a new rule will be announced, and it will add additional punishments as the Heads of House have unanimously agreed to support to quell the increasing violations of the rules. I hope that all of you show up tomorrow for breakfast bright and early.

"So, until then, remember that you are restricted to the common room if you are not in classes, patrolling, or at meals. Any person who violates this rule will lose fifty points and gain two weeks' worth of detention, which is required for violating restrictions.

"Have a good evening and think about what has been done."

Professor Burbage left the Common Room, and Harry paused to wait until the door shut.

"I know some of you don't like how I enforce the rules," Harry said. "I'll tell you this: if it gets out that a prefect is allowing their friends or housemates to get away with breaking the rules, the prefect will be removed from their position permanently. And the prefect will be punished by losing house points and serve about a months' worth of detentions, which is enough to have suspension as the next step for violating a rule that loses twenty points or gives a week's worth of detentions.

"For me, if I violate the rules, then I lose my apprenticeship. I don't want to do that, as it can seriously impact my life. If I lose my Apprenticeship, then I can no longer remain at Hogwarts due to circumstances."

Harry paused for a moment to let that sink in.

"I don't think I have ever been so ashamed to have been a Gryffindor. And I am sure Godric himself would be ashamed of the actions members of his house take."

With those final words, Harry left the Gryffindor Common Room to return to his wife and their planned potions theory study session.

* * *

The next evening, Harry was preparing his lesson for his Defense Against the Dark Arts Study Group. It had finally gotten off the ground, and he had finally gotten time to have the lesson. He was in the Healer Apprentice Office in the hospital wing preparing his lesson for the night's first lesson.

"Mr. Potter, the Headmistress would like to speak with us," Madam Pomfrey said.

Harry put down his pen and stood up. He followed Madam Pomfrey to her office/sleeping quarters.

"Poppy, Mr. Potter, I am afraid that Albus passed away this evening. Even with the potions Miss Greengrass gave him, he was unable to continue because of the intensive damage his body had suffered."

Harry and Madam Pomfrey bowed their heads in remembrance of a great, but troubled, man. Madam Pomfrey even gave a small sniffle, and Harry looked up to see McGonagall with suspiciously moist eyes.

"Professor, do you wish for me to cancel my first lesson?"

"Yes, Mr. Potter, I do," McGonagall said. "I am going to cancel lessons for tomorrow to let people get over the shock. We will also cancel lessons when he is buried. There is going to be a memorial service here at Hogwarts Minister Bones informed me about just a few minutes ago. I will let you know more when I get the details."

McGonagall sat down in a chair and she gave a heavy sigh. Harry shook his head, as he knew Dumbledore had done so much in his life that his last troubled years would not overshadow many of his accomplishments. Harry walked up to the Headmistress and placed his hand on her shoulder in a comforting way.

"Mr. Potter," Madam Pomfrey said. "You're free to go and join Miss Greengrass until dinner. I'm sure you'll want to tell her."

Harry nodded.

"Do you wish for me to tell anyone else?"

"Please refrain from doing so, Mr. Potter," McGonagall said, softly. "I want to tell the students. You two were the last of the faculty and staff, with the exception of Miss Greengrass and Miss Delacour. I've told everyone else already."

Since there were no classes going on at the moment, all of the professors had been in their quarters or offices wrapping up duties from the day, though some would continue to do so until nightfall.

Even Harry was going to be grading a Charms homework assignment for the third years to help Professor Flitwick with his enormous workload. He also had a stack of Transfiguration assignments for the first year classes to assist Professor Middleton with her classes. All in all, having Apprenticeship duties was difficult to handle most days because of the added requirements to teach or grade papers for the professors in their fields.

After getting his lesson plans, Harry left for their quarters, where Daphne and Fleur would be studying or just chatting.

He reached their quarters a few minutes later.

"Hi Harry. You're here early," Daphne said.

"Madam Pomfrey let me go," Harry said.

"Are you ready for the lesson tonight," Daphne asked, wanting to know, as she was going to assist him.

"It's been cancelled again."

"What happened this time?" It had been cancelled last time due to the lack of a set syllabus, one that McGonagall wanted before she would allow the meeting to proceed.

"Professor Dumbledore died today," Harry said. "McGonagall cancelled classes for tomorrow, and there's going to be a memorial service here at Hogwarts soon. I'm sure it'll be this weekend, though."

The two ladies nodded, and their cheerful demeanors left them. There was nothing to be happy about right now.

* * *

On Saturday, the Wizarding World was going to gather at Hogwarts for the funeral service. Dumbledore was going to be buried at Hogwarts because of his long service to the school. The Board of Governors had allowed that since he had been removed for medical reasons. Harry dressed in his formal apprenticeship robes for the first time. Daphne had her formal robes on as well. They would sit with the Hogwarts Faculty since Apprentices were considered Staff when not in regular classes.

The formal robes were black with the Hogwarts Crest on their chest. Their sleeves carried the single golden stripes of their ranks as Apprentices. Their fields were not mentioned on the robes at all. Once they graduated to Journeyman, and they would graduate to that level at the end of the school year, they would begin to carry a thick stripe plus the insignia of their fields, which was an Asclepius for Healing, a wand shooting sparks for Charms, and an animal in the middle of transforming for Transfiguration.

The faculty wore their formal robes with their insignia. Their robes consisted of two thick stripes and the insignia of the field they taught in. A Master in the field would have a third, thin stripe above the two thick stripes. The Headmistress had four thick golden stripes, as well as the insignia of her Mastery Field. The Deputy Headmaster, Flitwick, had three thick and one thin stripes and then his insignia for his master field. A Deputy Headmaster without mastery certification would have two thick and two thin stripes. If there had been assistant professors, they would have a thick stripe and then a thin stripe under the insignia of their field.

The students wore their best school robes, as this was for a former Headmaster. The Ministry Aurors wore their dress robes and were out in force. There were also Aurors patrolling Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley, St. Mungos, and the Ministry of Magic, with several strike teams prepared for a Death Eater attack during the funeral service.

When it was time to start, the students gathered in the Great Hall were led to their seats by their Heads of House, who had a cowl in their house colors to show their status as a Head of House.

Of course, for this event, the press was out in force, as was the Ministry. All of the Ministry Department Heads, along with many members of the Wizengamot, were present and seated ahead of the students. The Hogwarts Faculty were on the left, and the Ministry and Wizengamot Members were on the right, along with Dumbledore's last relative, his brother. Members of the Order of the Phoenix sat behind the Hogwarts Faculty at Aberforth's request.

A thin, bearded wizard gave a talk about Dumbledore's life, and then Minister Bones stood to speak. After she spoke about how great Dumbledore's life was, she returned to her seat and the other wizard resumed his duties.

The funeral was short and sweet, with Dumbledore's body going up in magical flames that left a white sarcophagus next to the lake. A statue in front of the sarcophagus had a phoenix rising.

Harry thought that was an appropriate symbol for Dumbledore. He was now rising from the ashes of his medical problems and the problems of this life for his next Great Adventure. Harry just hoped that he could do the same and rise above his problems and enjoy his life until he was ready for his next Great Adventure.

Once the service was over, the faculty led the students back into the castle, which was then closed to outsiders for security reasons. Daphne, Harry, and Fleur went back into the castle, ignoring the press and their calls to speak with Harry. He didn't feel like talking to the press at the moment.

Daphne couldn't see a reason why he would speak to the press. She had told him to let the politicians and Professor McGonagall take care of that part. Harry didn't want to go against what his wife wanted for something like this. She was the political one. He wasn't.

Back in the castle, Harry and Daphne returned to their quarters for a round of passionate love making, as, oddly enough, attending the funeral had made them want to show their love for the other. And it may have been something to do with the ongoing war and Harry's major role in it.

* * *

The following morning, at breakfast, Harry got a package from the Minister. He read the note attached to it while several curious people looked at him.

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_You and your betrothed gave me much to think about during our discussion a few days ago. I have discussed this issue with Alastor, and he gave me the same thing you have. Not all Dark spells are illegal, and some are modifications of illegal spells. The law is written in such a way that does require each banned spell to be listed individually._

_Because of this, I have begun a program of instruction for the Magical Law Enforcement Squad and the prosecutors to carefully consider the charges when we wish to charge someone with using illegal magic. I have issued instructions to detain anyone who is suspected of using Dark Magic until we can interview them. If it is a clear cut of self-defense, then they will be allowed to go free with a warning to carefully consider how they use magic. If it is a clear case of using magic with the intent to harm someone, well, you get the idea. _

_Because of your argument, and because of the task laid out before, this package contains a few items that will help you with your task. One book is an unabridged copy of the spells, potions, and rituals that have been named illegal through the centuries. The next items are the Hit Wizard and Auror training Guides, as I feel they may contain some magic that you are not familiar with. Finally, I have included two documents. The first document gives you permission to use any spell that you deem necessary as long as you have a clear-cut reason to do so under the rules of engagement supported by law. The second document is a provisional Hit Wizard License, which will allow you to handle things more directly than a civilian is normally allowed to do, such as ambushing an attacking Death Eater force. _

_Please do not abuse these items, or they will be revoked. _

_Sincerely,_

_Amelia Bones,_

_Minister for Magic_

Harry smiled as he read the letter. He had suspected Amelia might do something like this.

"What was in the letter you got with the package," Daphne asked as they left the Great Hall and headed to the hospital wing for a shift.

"Minister Bones sent me a list of illegal spells, and a few other things," Harry said, handing her the note.

Daphne read the note.

"I suspected she might do this after our discussion and her knowledge of what you want to do. I gather this is also a recruiting pitch for the Aurors."

"Probably," Harry said. "She really went out on a limb to get me these things and get a waiver for the age requirements."

"She did," Daphne said. "And she won't do it ever again if she loses trust in you."

"I don't plan on making her lose trust in me, Daphne," Harry said, as he opened the hospital wing door for her.

"I'm glad you made it," Madam Pomfrey said. "I just got word that Death Eaters are attacking Diagon Alley. With St. Mungos filled due to last night's random attacks, and the lack of staff, we're going to be taking casualties again."

Harry and Daphne shared a look before they entered their office to change into their healer apprentice robes, which were cheap and disposable when compared to their normal robes. Fleur was finishing tying her enchanted field healer boots as they entered. She nodded grimly at them and left, wand in hand, ready for the first casualties to come.

Five minutes after entering the hospital wing, Harry and Daphne were dressed in their complete field healer uniforms. The uniforms had the traditional green of a healer, with a red cross on the arm, the symbol of a field healer. The boots were charmed to be impervious to blood and other body fluids and also had climate controlling charms, as well as special soles that would allow them to get good grip on slippery floors.

Neither of them thought about the reason there was a grip charm on their boots as they grimly waited for the first casualties with a similarly dressed Madam Pomfrey.


	17. Bloody Sunday or Healer's Hell

**AN: There are two more paragraphs in the previous chapter that was updated after Ch16 was first published. The paragraphs just fit better in the previous chapter. Thank you.**

The waiting was excruciatingly painful for the four healers. They continued to wait for news about the attack and Professor McGonagall entered.

"Poppy," Minerva said, as she entered the hospital wing. "I just got word that the Ministry has been hit hard, along with St. Mungos."

"St. Mungos, again," Harry muttered.

"Yes," Minerva said. "Sirius said that all hands are being called to action, as the hospital has partially collapsed and no casualties are entering or leaving."

"Shit," Harry muttered.

"Quite," Madam Pomfrey said. "Let's get the full set up going, Minerva," the Healer said. "I'll need the older students on stand by to act as stretcher bearers, messengers, and to brew potions."

"Unfortunately, Professor Sutherland had gone to St. Mungos to see his mother," Minerva said. "I shall get the older students brewing potions right away."

"Dobby," Harry said.

The house elf appeared.

"Master Harry," The elf asked, looking at him for guidance.

"I need you to go and bring me the trunk that is sitting in the corner of the study," Harry said. "Bring it at once."

The elf popped out and returned with the trunk.

"What's that?"

"Our supply of potions," Daphne said. "Harry and I have created a few new potions that you will find useful."

"Now is not the time to be looking at new potions," McGonagall said, as they waited for the first patients.

"It is if you want the healing power of phoenix tears," Harry said. "We have modified potions so that they are much stronger and require a lower dose," He added, as he opened the trunk with a tap of his wand.

A short incantation later, and the trunk had turned into a large cabinet. Harry opened the doors of the cabinet to reveal a large shelf filled with small vials with various colored potions in the vials. One side of the cabinet contained various pastes that were labeled as well as color coded.

"Each of the vials is one individual dose," Harry said, as he motioned for the others to look. "This automatic list shows how many doses we have available of each potion."

Madam Pomfrey skimmed the list and was shocked at the sheer numbers.

"How long did it take to make all of these?"

"Not long, considering," Daphne replied. "The hardest part was collecting enough phoenix tears from Harry's animagus form and several other phoenixes."

"You have three thousand doses of blood replenishing potion?"

"You know that one normal batch has about ten doses?"

Madam Pomfrey nodded.

"Well, one batch with the phoenix tears of an equivalent volume has three hundred doses. The ratio differs per potion, but these tiny vials are all you need for one dose. Each dose has the equivalent of two phoenix tears in it as well. The stasis charm allows the potions to remain ready for about ten years," Harry said.

"How long have these been here?"

"We brewed them in our last year of training," Daphne said. "It took quite a while to test the potions and get them approved, but the American Department of Magical Affairs has fully certified the potions for human use."

"Blood-replenishing potions, pepper up potion, dreamless sleep draught, Skele-Gro, boil cure, calming draught, Bruise-healing paste, burn-healing paste, and quite a few others," Harry said. "In all, one hundred and four different healing potions, elixirs, and pastes, including a general antidote that is primarily phoenix tears with ground bezoar."

"How do you administer the pastes? They're in funny tubes," Fleur asked.

Harry picked up a burn paste and unscrewed the tube. Then he squeezed it to bring a little of the paste out.

"This paste won't require as much to heal a wound," Harry said. "A thin layer on the wound is sufficient, and, to apply the paste, there are these cloths that have been soaked in a phoenix tear solution. The clothes can also be used to drop the tears into wounds by squeezing," Harry said, demonstrating with a small piece of a cloth.

"Or you can use one of these vials with the dropper," Daphne said. "These contain undiluted phoenix tears under a special stasis charm that Harry invented just for potions."

"Now where are the patients," McGonagall mused. "They said they would be coming here."

"Professor McGonagall," Flitwick said, as he entered the Hospital Wing. "The Floo Network is compromised and has been shut down. The Aurors are portkeying patients in to be brought in from Hogsmeade Station."

"I'll go and triage them," Madam Pomfrey said.

"Madam Pomfrey," a breathless Auror said. "You're needed at St. Mungos. We only have two healers there, and they're having to triage a lot of injured from three Quidditch stadiums that were hit and people sent to St. Mungos."

"We have patients incoming here as well," the woman snapped.

"The Healer Service has conscripted you again, Madam Pomfrey," The Auror said, officiously. "You are ordered to appear at the area of St. Mungos in order to set up a triage to treat patients to be sent here."

Madam Pomfrey felt the orders take place, and she nodded.

"Fleur, you're coming with me," she said. "Harry, Daphne," she added, before pausing. "I'll take all of my normal potions and a few vials of phoenix tears. You can use those you created and brewed."

The two nodded.

The woman stopped at her desk before she grabbed her field kit. She picked up a piece of parchment and scribbled on it.

"When I get back, we will arrange for the official award ceremony," She added, as she handed Daphne a sheet of parchment. "Congratulations Expert Field Healer Greengrass, Expert Field Healer Potter."

"But…" Harry started.

"By redoing these healing potions, you have shown you have what it takes," The Hospital Wing Matron said, as she motioned for Fleur to start packing things. "To make a healing potion, you must understand how to heal an injury, and the two of you together know as much as I do about healing, though you may not know a lot about the esoteric curses and things."

"Madam Pomfrey, you're needed now!" the Auror about yelled. "There's no time to chat."

"I'm leaving orders for my people," Madam Pomfrey said, snapping at the Auror. "I'm warning you now, I will not put up with you tone, Williamson. I delivered you when you were a babe, and I will not have you talking to me like that, Auror or not."

The chastised man reached for his wand, but Harry had his first.

"You do and you will be placed in the hospital wing to heal the muggle way," Harry said, in a dangerous tone. "With a bunch of bone injuries that take weeks to heal."

The Auror looked at Harry and gulped. He nodded his agreement and left his wand where it was.

"I will have you arrested…"

Harry held out a Hit Wizard Badge.

"Technically, I outrank you, Auror," Harry said.

"Yes sir," The Auror said, gulping as he saw the Hit Wizard badge.

"You leave and wait outside. Madam Pomfrey will need to pack medical supplies to help treat the wounded," he added, as the first stretcher bearers entered the hospital wing.

Harry immediately turned his attention to the second patient to come through the door, a man who was bleeding profusely where his left arm used to be.

Harry sighed and went to work.

Madam Pomfrey rushed out after she saw a few lighter injured people were being brought up first.

"Place these two in the Great Hall," McGonagall said, pointing at those who lower injuries. "In fact, only a healer may order someone to be brought into the Hospital Wing," she commanded, imperiously. "House Elves of Hogwarts, to me."

The house elves appeared at the professor.

"An emergency has been declared. Hogwarts is an emergency evacuation center and the Great Hall needs to be made into a hospital."

The elves disappeared immediately, as they had standing orders to complete during emergencies.

"Professor," Harry said, as he stood over a patient. "Can you watch me for a moment? I'll teach you how to teach others to use the phoenix tears to stop bleeding."

McGonagall nodded and walked over quickly.

"First," Harry said, you place a soaked cloth over the wound." He demonstrated. "Then you take the vial and place a drop every inch or so along the wound on top of the cloth."

Harry did as he said, putting three drops in the four inch gash. The bleeding slowed immediately, even from a major wound.

"This is a major wound, and two or three drops will be more than enough to close a smaller wound. But this one will require more," he added, as he placed two more drops. "These tears should be used sparingly, but enough to heal the patient totally. We have about two hundred of these vials, and each vial contains about a thousand drops. The cloths can also be used to heal minor scratches and bruises by themselves, but let's save them for anything that is bleeding profusely."

After the wound had stopped bleeding, Harry spoke again.

"When this happens, wrap the wound with a bandage and leave the cloth over it. Later, someone will fully heal the wound with a spell if needed."

McGonagall nodded.

Harry then spoke.

"Dobby!"

"Master Harry?"

"Go to my room and bring back the other trunk that is in my closet."

The elf appeared a moment later.

"This contains cloths and more vials of phoenix tears," Harry said. "You should get the students and other adults who are able and willing to help stop the bleeding."

McGonagall took the box that Dobby had and left the Hospital Wing as Harry turned to another patient. He continued with the same procedure to stop the bleeding, and, a short spell later, the wound was fully healed and the patient was sleeping. He summoned a blood replenishing potion and gave it to the patient and checked him again. Satisfied with his work, Harry turned to the next patient that was in danger of dying.

* * *

In the Great Hall, more and more wounded were being brought in. McGonagall didn't know what to do, so she sent Dobby to get Harry while Hermione looked on.

"This is what you do to help stop bleeding," McGonagall said. She went on to demonstrate what Harry had done to stop the bleeding, and then handed out containers of cloth and bottles of phoenix tears to the volunteers. Some of the civilians who had brought injured in started to help as well as they followed the demonstrations.

Harry ran into the Great Hall and his eyes went wide with the sheer number of injured. Without a further word, he sent Dobby for another trunk. This one was like the first trunk and contained three thousand doses of most potions, and then he opened it and got to work, using Luna Lovegood and other students as couriers to bring and administer potions and pastes as he diagnosed and treated patients with spells.

"I NEED A HEALER!"

Harry ran over to a bleeding man.

"I need a healer, not a student," The Auror hissed at Harry.

"I'm all you got," Harry replied, in a cool tone. "Madam Pomfrey is at St. Mungos and do you see these green robes?"

The woman nodded.

"Look for more of them in the crowd."

She looked around and the only healer robes she saw other than Harry's were on patients who were being treated by civilians.

With that, Harry looked at the patient and cast two spells.

"Stop this bleeding," Harry said, instructing a passing student. "Once you do that and give him a single dose of blood replenishing potion, he'll be stable for a while," Harry added, before bustling off to another patient who needed his help more, leaving a shocked Auror behind.

* * *

Over the next hours, Harry worked tirelessly alongside Daphne and as many people they had. One of his patients he saw was Sirius, and he rushed over to check on him, concerned about his 'guardian' and his friend. A few spells later, and Harry had Sirius awakened.

"Harry, where am I?"

"Hogwarts," Harry said. "Listen, we need help, and lots of it," he said. "St. Mungos, the Ministry, and Diagon Alley are all knee deep in casualties. The Aurors are down a lot of people, and I am going to do something I normally wouldn't."

"What is that?"

Harry waved his hand and Sirius grimaced in pain.

"I'm doing a fighter's healing spell on your leg and letting you get back to work," Harry said. "When things calm down, that leg will have the bones removed and regrown. Until then, your wand is sorely needed."

Sirius nodded and Harry handed him a potion.

"What's this tiny thing?"

"It's a kick ass potion that Daphne and I developed. That's all you need to know for now. Drink it and get back to me later."

Sirius watched Harry run off to a patient and then drank the potion. He felt it work immediately, and felt like a new man. He smirked and then stood up from the bed, to the surprise of someone else.

"Why are you up," McGonagall asked.

"Harry told me that my wand was needed," Sirius said. "Where's the Minister?"

"She's in the Charms Classroom with a few aides," McGonagall said. "The bastards took the Ministry building, and the Minister and her staff evacuated to Hogwarts via portkey."

Sirius nodded grimly and limped off to find his boss.

* * *

"POTTER YOU GET OVER HERE AND HEAL MY BROTHER!" Ginny Weasley yelled.

Harry glanced over at the redhead, who was standing by the bed of Charlie Weasley. He was bleeding, and Harry shook his head. It didn't seem dire enough for him to be needed as of yet.

"MacMillan, go heal Weasley and get him a dose of blood replenishing potion," Harry ordered a passing Hufflepuff student.

"Yes sir," the student said, and scurried off.

"POTTER!"

Harry felt himself being dragged around as he cast a spell on a patient. He wheeled in anger to face Molly Weasley.

"Get away from me, you crazy bitch!" Harry hissed at her, finally losing his temper with her. "AURORS! REMOVE THIS WOMAN IMMEDIATELY!"

Two wounded but capable Aurors ran over.

"What's the problem?"

"She pulled me away from a patient," Harry said, as he turned his face back to a patient to cast a healing spell. "If I hit the patient with a miscast spell, he could die," Harry added. "Molly Weasley, I don't want you in my hospital again."

"Come along, Mrs. Weasley," Auror Tonks said, in an angry tone.

"But my son…"

"Is being cared for," Harry hissed, as he fed the unconscious patient a blood replenishing potion from his pocket. He checked the patient again and frowned. Molly had made him miscast the spell and it had hit the patient. He closed his eyes for a brief second and then opened them again.

"Elves, take this man to Ward D." Two house elves appeared and moved the dying man. He was beyond Harry's help becuase of Molly Bloody Weasley and Harry didn't have time to study the case carefully. In emergency situations, choices had to be made, and there were lives to save.

Harry nodded at the patient and then scurried off to find another that needed his help. It wasn't hard to do, as the Great Hall was filled with patients with varying injuries. And it made Harry's choice to stop care on a man beyond help much easier for him to take in the long run.

"Harry," Daphne said. "I need you to take this patient. Curse."

Harry nodded and swapped with Daphne seamlessly, using his wand to clean some of blood off of his uniform. He examined this patient and realized what the curse was. It was a miscast blood boiling hex that had the blood at a higher temperature than normal and damaging the circulatory system. He concentrated for a moment on what to do and then pulled his wand up to cast the counter-charm.

Right as he prepared to cast it, he was pulled around again.

"Get the fuck away from me," Harry growled, as he looked into the face of a bloody Charlie Weasley, who was up from his bed.

"It's Fleur," Charlie said. "She's not breathing well."

"Shit," Harry said. "Let me finish this right up or this patient will die."

Charlie nodded and then watched as Harry removed the curse in a hurry.

"Where is she?"

Charlie motioned to where a frantic Hermione Granger was trying to get the blonde Veela to breathe using CPR. Harry ran over that way, as he had to care for Fleur.

"Out of the way!" Harry yelled. Hermione jumped off at Harry's voice, and Harry cast a resuscitation spell on Fleur. Her chest rose a couple times and then stopped again. He did it two more times before he had an irregular heartbeat that was good enough. Knowing she wasn't stable and was in a serious condition, Harry continued to diagnose to find the true problem. His instinct told him the lack of breathign was just a symptom.

He cast a few spells and found what was wrong: she'd been hexed with a suffocation curse. He countered the curse immediately, and her color and heartbeat returned to normal. He then gave her a sleeping draught, as she would need rest.

"Take her to the staffed recovery room," Harry said to Hermione. "She should be good for now."

Hermione nodded and snapped her fingers. Two house elves immediately appeared and Hermione spoke, giving them their instructions on where to place the patient. Their destination, the staffed recovery room, had a couple of volunteers watching over the patients to make sure they didn't revert back to a dangerous condition.

Harry sighed with relief and then found another patient.

Madam Pomfrey was Harry's next patient. She, too, was unconscious.

"Weasley!"

Charlie ran over.

"I need to know what happened. Both Madam Pomfrey and Fleur were supposed to be at a medical treatment area under Auror guard. If you can't find out, I want you with your wand at the door. No one with the Dark Mark enters this castle. Understand?"

"I understand," Charlie said, a serious look on his face.

Fred and George ran by.

"Twins," Harry said, stopping them. "Up to something?"

"Going to fetch more ingredients for potions," Fred said.

"Good. If you need something to do, start helping Charlie check for the mark. If the person has a mark, stun them and I don't give a fuck if they are injured are not. Place them in a stasis charm and we'll get to them last."

The two gave Harry a serious nod and then bustled off, as busy as everyone else. Harry turned to the patient near him, and it was Madam Pomfrey. He cast a few spells on her and found she was in a coma. There was nothing he could do until she came out of it. But as he was about to order her to be taken to a monitored room, he caught something out of the corner of his eye. It was a bit of red-tinged sputum. She was coughing up blood, never a good sign.

He cast a few more diagnostic spells and then found out the problem: she'd been hit with a lung hemorrhaging curse. He growled angrily, and his magic flared dangerously and startled people until he got it reigned in. He checked her two more times and then cast the intricate series of counter charms. Five minutes later, he breathed a sigh of relief as his scan brought up nothing.

He was damn glad that he had studied the esoteric curses that could affect people. Else Madam Pomfrey, and Fleur, would have died a few hours from now.

* * *

"This man is convulsing," Harry heard nearing the evening hours. He ran over to check on the patient and gasped when he saw who it was. It was Remus Lupin. A moment later, he stood with his wand out.

"BACK UP!" Harry shouted, and the people trying to hold Remus down did. He cast a quick containment spell and shouted.

"FULL MOON!" as he lifted Remus up with his wand. The werewolf started to change and convulse wildly as it fought Harry's magic.

Immediately, six Aurors converged on the werewolf, wands raised to take it out.

"Do not harm my patient," Harry said, in a strained voice. "Clear the route."

Harry held Remus up in the air above any patient, and a quick thinking Hermione Granger magically held a tub to catch any saliva to keep it from getting on the wounded patients.

A moment later, Harry opened the anteroom to the Great Hall and found McGonagall had transfigured a cage out of a table. Harry levitated Remus into the cage, and he completed the transformation right as Harry's magic gave out. McGonagall quickly shut the cage door as the werewolf jumped at Harry. Moony hit the cage door and growled menacingly at Harry, who knew the cage would hold up, as McGonagall was very good at what she did.

Harry fell to one knee.

"Are you ok, Mr. Potter? Harry?" McGonagall asked, concerned.

"Tired," Harry said.

"Then take a break."

"I can't," Harry said. "They need me."

Harry reached into his pocket and took out a vial of a strengthening and endurance potion. He gulped down the contents and wiped his mouth clean. He felt the potion take hold and felt better.

"What was that?"

"Strengthening and Endurance Potion," Harry replied.

The teen stood and headed back out to treat patients, acting as if he hadn't saved a lot of people from being ravaged by a werewolf.

"What about the wolf?" An Auror asked.

"Leave it, Dawlish," McGonagall ordered, as Harry left. "The werewolf is a friend of Mr. Potter's and you do not want him angry at you."

The Aurors nodded, having sensed Harry's great amount of magic. They knew they wouldn't have been able to stop a rampaging werewolf with the levitation charm like the Healer had done.

* * *

As the patients needing treatment seemed to be harder to find after about two days, Harry saw a green-robed figure enter the Great Hall, shocked at the sheer number of patients here. He moved to another patient, ignoring the healer. After all, he had to continue or he'd fall asleep.

"How many are here, Professor McGonagall," The stern woman asked.

"Somewhere over three thousand at last count," McGonagall said.

"How many healers?"

"Two," she said. "The rest are patients."

The woman's jaw dropped.

"And those healers handled that many patients?"

"They had help from others, but yes," Minerva said, with a smile.

"Where are the healers?"

Minerva pointed to where Harry and Daphne were treating two patients near the entrance of the Great Hall.

"They're just students!"

"That's Expert Field Healer Potter and Expert Field Healer Greengrass-Potter," McGonagall said, a smile on her face. "They were trained in healing, and Mr. Potter is a Spell Damage Specialist."

"How?"

"It's not my story, Rebecca," McGonagall said. "When did you get back from America?"

"I just got back," She said. "I had to enter in France and then take Muggle transportation into England before I could disapparate. If you'll excuse me, let me pitch in."

McGonagall nodded and watched as the third healer entered the area. She watched as they spoke to the other two, and Rebecca Danielson, the Head Healer of St. Mungos, seem to be in shock at what they were doing. McGonagall smiled, as she recognized Harry using phoenix tears to heal the wounds of a patient.

"Headmistress," Minister Bones said. "What's the situation?"

"Healer Potter and Healer Greengrass-Potter have it under control," she said, with a smile. "Healer Danielson just returned from her trip, and she's probably going to relieve those two so they can rest."

"What's the final tally?"

Minerva checked a sheet that an elf handed her, having heard the Minister's question.

"Three thousand four hundred and six patients were brought in. Twenty-three died of their injuries before they could see a Healer. Forty-one more died after treatment. And only one died because of treatment. And that was because Molly Weasley catastrophically interrupted Mr. Potter's healing spell."

Minister Bones nodded.

"And for each Healer?"

"Mr. Potter saw one thousand eight hundred and four patients. Miss Greengrass saw the remainder."

"In two days?"

"Yes," McGonagall said. "In forty-eight hours, they each treated over a thousand patients with the help of quite a few others."

"No help?" a shocked Minister of Magic asked.

"None but other students," McGonagall said. "And to top it off, Mr. Potter prevented a catastrophe when he moved a transforming werewolf to a safe place away from the patients when the moon rose."

"He ran with the werewolf while levitating it?"

"Yes. And several of your Aurors wanted to kill it."

Madam Bones nodded. She would have not expected any less in a room filled with this many people with a transforming werewolf.

"If the werewolf would have gotten down, they would have been right to kill it."

McGonagall nodded.

"I'm just thankful Mr. Potter realized that it was a full moon."

"I am too," Minister Bones said. "Did they rest?"

"They used potions," McGonagall said, sadly. "I got to sleep a bit, but they did not rest at all as far as I know."

Minister Bones paused in her thoughts and saw the two shake hands with Healer Danielson.

"Let's go see what we can do, Minerva. I've sent an envoy to France to ask for help, but I haven't gotten any word about his status."

The Transfiguration Professor nodded.

"Mr. Potter, why don't you go with your wife and rest," McGonagall said.

"Wife," Healer Danielson asked.

"Mr. Potter and Mrs. Greengrass-Potter were bound magically over the summer," McGonagall said.

"Professor but…"

"You can rest," Minister Bones said. "We can awaken you if we need to."

Harry nodded and walked toward the exit of the Great Hall. As he and Daphne walked by, they were not aware of the looks that the people gave them. They weren't looks of shame or anything, but looks of awe. An informal tally of their patients had been kept in the public's eye to see how many patients had been treated by each healer.

"Dobby?"

"Yes Headmistress?" the elf asked, after popping in front of the Headmistress.

"I want you to make sure that no one bothers Harry and Daphne," She said, fondly. "No one is to be let in their rooms, and you are to let them sleep unless Healer Danielson orders you to get her help to treat patients."

"Yes Headmistress," the elf said, before he popped out.

"Amelia, I think you should see these potions," Minerva said, nodding in satisfaction that things were well in hand here.

"What are they," Amelia asked. "They don't look like the vials contain enough."

"These potions saved many lives in the past two days," McGonagall said. "If it weren't for the preparation and study that Mr. Potter and his wife had done, these potions would not have been available.

"Winky?"

"Yes Headmistress?"

"Can you bring the other potions cabinet from the hospital wing?"

"It's empty, Headmistress," The elf replied. "Healer Potter ordered us to place the potions in here. This is all that's left."

"My word," McGonagall said, as she looked at the tally.

"How many potions were used?"

"This is what's left out of about six thousand doses of the liquid potions," McGonagall said. "And about five hundred tubes of each paste."

Minister Bones and Healer Danielson looked over the numbers listed. Most potions were numbered below two thousand, with few exceptions. The potions to cure boils and the like were about full, and now took up more shelf space in this cabinet.

"Any word on my potions master?"

"He was killed, Minerva," Minister Bones said. "I'll have some of my people brewing potions, as it seems that we need them. Or we will need them if the past few weeks are any indication of what we should expect."

McGonagall nodded.

"When will this end, Minister," Sirius asked, as he walked up to join them.

"I don't know, Mr. Black," Minister Bones said. "Mr. Potter did a great job today, along with his wife."

"Indeed they did," Sirius said, as he examined the potions. "Where did these come from? Their version of Skele-Gro healed my leg in about four hours versus eight. It wasn't quite as annoying or painful either."

"Mr. and Mrs. Potter brewed them," McGonagall said, proudly. "I think that deserves a potions Mastery for both of them, don't you?"

Minister Bones nodded her agreement.

"I'll have one of my people look at them and check them out," she said. "Then we can question them on the potions and who did what."

"What is the main ingredient in these potions," Healer Danielson asked.

"Phoenix tears," Minerva said, with a smile. "They all contain phoenix tears. Don't ask me how they got them, as I don't know how they go so many."

"They must have used millions of galleons worth of phoenix tears," the healer said. "One vial alone," She added, holding up a fill vial of pure tears. "Costs about ten thousand galleons, which is the reason why we can't make potions like this. Or the reason we couldn't make potions," she added, after remembering her hospital was all but destroyed and would have to be rebuilt.

"If I know them, they knew what they were preparing for and were able to cheaply procure most ingredients," McGonagall said, proudly.

"Minerva, Harry's parents would be so proud of him right now."

"I think everyone would be proud of Mr. Potter right now. How's Remus doing?"

"He's upset that he almost killed a lot of people. The last thing he remembers is Harry yelling for everyone to step back and being lifted into the air."

"Harry moved him to the cage," McGonagall said.

"How did he do that," Professor Flitwick asked, joining the group. "It's almost impossible to use magic such as a levitation charm on a transformed or transforming werewolf."

"I have no idea, Filius, but he was exhausted about twenty four hours ago when he did it. And he lasted over ten more hours using a lot of magic to remove curses and heal patients."

Sirius looked around the Great Hall and shook his head. He didn't know how many people owed their lives to Harry and Daphne, but he was sure it was a large portion of the Wizarding World.

"Minister, the Aurors are on patrol, and the Unspeakables have set up the perimeter wards and check points."

"Very well," Minister Bones said. "And where's Alastor?"

"He's tied down in a bed," Sirius said, amused. "It seems that Miss Greengrass was not amused with his attempts to get up and move around after he lost a chunk out of his good leg. She placed a password spell to hold him down."

McGonagall chuckled.

"Leave it to Alastor," she said. "Anyway, let's see what we can do to start the clean up," McGonagall said. "And then we can discuss how to reward Mr. Potter and Miss Greengrass."

"From what I saw on the patients," Healer Danielson said. "I can easily award them status as full Healers. Not many of my healers, most of whom are healing from their injuries themselves, would have been able to do this with ten others, much less just one other."

"What about the Mungo Bunham award in Healing? It hasn't been awarded in a few years," Minerva asked.

Healer Danielson nodded. That was a good idea. And in a case like this, it was obvious that their contributions to healing were highly commendable. Not to mention their dedication to healing. Just looking at the sheer number of patients they treated in less than two days showed that.

"We'll start the paperwork right away," she said. "I'm sure after this, the Wizengamot will unanimously approve it."

* * *

Twenty minutes after Harry and Daphne went to sleep, reinforcements from the Veela Nation arrived at Hogwarts, with a contingent consisting of forty healers, ten potions mistresses, ten Dark Magic Experts, and thirty Veela Warriors.

"Minister Bones, I am Adrianna Richards, of the Veela Matriarch Council. And this is Annabelle Anderson, Vice Commander of the Veela Security Forces. We are here to assist you in the fight against the Dark Lord at the request of Harry Potter, our protector and consort."

"Consort?"

Annabelle smiled before speaking.

"He allowed us to come to your country under his protection in a legally binding, but voluntarily cancelled consort contract. This is to prevent some of your less scrupulous people from claiming us as sex slaves under your laws."

Minister Bones gave a frown.

"We will see about that law," she said, with a determined look on her face. "But now, Master Healer Danielson should direct your Healers and their support staff. Senior Hit Wizard Black is in charge of security around Hogwarts. Your people should consult with them to discuss assignments."

"Minister, who treated these patients?"

"Expert Field Healer Potter and Expert Field Healer Greengrass."

"And soon to be Senior Healers," Healer Danielson said. "Together, they treated or saw all of the patients who came through here in the past two days. And this is their potions cache."

"Interesting," one of the potions mistresses said, examining them. "This is what Harry was working on."

"It was," Annabelle said, with a nod. "He and Daphne sent us letters when they returned. Let's get out and get sorted, ladies," Annabelle said. "We have patients to protect and heal."

"Where are our friends," Adrianna asked.

"They're gaining some well deserved rest."

"And Fleur?"

"She's in a bed healing from a suffocation curse," McGonagall said. "If Mr. Potter hadn't gotten to her when he did, she would be dead."

"Who did this to our cousin," Annabelle demanded to know, her eyes showing anger. "Who dares attack a healer?"


	18. Mr Smith gains a hunting permit

When Harry awoke after about two days of sleeping, he looked around until he saw the angelic smile of his sweet wife next to him. He gently nudged her, and she opened her eyes.

"Good morning, luv," She said, kissing him.

He returned her kiss passionately, and reached to pull her closer to him.

"Sorry, luv," Daphne said. "We have patients to tend to," she reminded him.

"What time is it?"

Daphne cast the tempus spell and she was shocked.

"We slept for two days."

"Well, darling," Harry said. "I wouldn't expect any less because we took a couple doses of the Phoenix Power Potion."

Daphne nodded.

"Of course," She said. "I remember the last time we took it. We were out for quite a few hours after a single dose as well. Let's get a shower, together, and check on the patients. I'm sure they'll need our help."

* * *

When the couple got to the Great Hall, they were shocked to see dozens of green-robed healers working. Fleur was one of them, and she grinned at the pair before walking over to Harry, whom she hugged.

"Thank you, Harry," Fleur said. "You saved my life."

"What did he do?" Daphne asked.

"She was hit by a suffocation curse," Harry said, darkly. "How do you feel?"

"Great," Fleur said.

"I notice many of these Healers are Veela," Harry commented.

"Of course, Harry," another voice said.

Harry and Daphne turned around and it took them a moment to place their friend, Annabelle.

"Annabelle, it's nice to see you again," Daphne said, giving her a hug.

"It's been several weeks for me, but ten years for the two of you," she whispered. "We arrived not a half-hour after you two left to rest."

"I'm glad to see the help," Harry said. "Where can we pitch in?"

"We want your help with a few of the patients we just got from the hospital," Healer Danielson said, as she approached. "We think that some of your potions might do the trick, but we didn't want to take your potions to use."

"We have one more case of them," Daphne said, shrugging her shoulders. "And we made them with the war in mind, just in case. Good thing we did, as I don't think we would have saved as many people."

"Yes, I agree," Healer Danielson said. "Please follow me, Healer Potter, Healer Greengrass."

The lovers shared a look, one that Fleur and Annabelle caught and smirked at.

"You'll find out later," Annabelle said. "You need to go."

A few minutes later, they were in the hospital wing, where the newly arrived patients were settled in.

"The Longbottoms," Harry said, noting two patients who looked somewhat familiar.

"Indeed, Mr. Potter," Healer Danielson said. "They were trapped with no help for about four days now. We've taken care of their primary needs, but we want to know if some of your potions may help them. Your potion did help Albus stay alive longer too."

Daphne nodded and Harry cast a few diagnostic spells. After a few minutes, he frowned, and cast some spells again.

"What is it," Daphne asked, noting Harry's look on his face.

"Sadly, I think Mr. Longbottom is too far gone to help," Harry said. "But a couple of our potions could make the remainder of his life more bearable. At least for his family."

"You're talking about the Rejuvenation Potion?"

"Yes," Harry said, confirming it to his wife. Daphne walked over to the cabinet, which had been moved in here by a helpful house elf, and picked up the potion that had been in a password-protected area of the cabinet.

"What are those potions?"

"Those are the potions that are the most expensive and have the least common use," Daphne explained. "We made a few of them with some situations in mind, but this wasn't one of them. This potion has been proven to help people regain lost memories and mental functioning, and it is reserved for the most needy of cases. It isn't used just to restore an obliviated person's memories."

"And you think it will work for the Longbottoms?"

"It may make them able to recognize people and respond stimuli," Harry said, softly. "Mrs. Longbottom is not as far gone as her husband, so I can't guarantee that it will work at all."

"Anything is better than nothing," Healer Danielson said. "Mrs. Longbottom and her grandson, Neville, were here earlier to visit them. I would like to help them a little if we could."

Harry placed the potion in the hands of Healer Danielson.

"Please talk to Mrs. Longbottom and Neville first," Harry suggested. "Tell them that the potion has been known to help those who have had traumatic head injuries, including long exposures to torture curses. But make it their decision. Mr. Longbottom will pass away in the next two years or so, and his wife will follow within ten without the potions. The potions will extend their lives for ten or more years even if it doesn't make them better."

"I understand. This is a decision we cannot make," Healer Danielson said. "I will speak to the Longbottoms about this and then let them decide what to do. How does it need to be administered?"

"You can have one of the Longbottoms give a dose to each of them," Harry said. "We'll wait to see how a single dose works, and, if they improve over the next week after getting a dose, we can then consider another dose of the potion. It wouldn't do to waste resources if we can't help them beyond a certain point."

"I understand. It is a hard choice to make."

"I had to tell the elves to transport several patients to Ward D," Harry said, softly. "So I learned a lot about making those tough decisions."

* * *

When Harry realized that he wasn't needed as a healer, he sat down in a private corner to brood about what he had done and what had happened over the past few days. The war was getting worse, and here he was playing nurse to a lot of people he could have saved by killing Death Eaters.

"What's wrong, Harry," Annabelle asked, as she came upon him.

"Why am I stuck in a hospital wing healing people when I should be hunting down Death Eaters and destroying them?"

Annabelle smiled.

"We never know why we do things until the future," Annabelle said. "For instance, if Daphne hadn't caused your goblin time turner to return to them, then we wouldn't have had so much fun, and you wouldn't be married to her and planning a legal wedding. And you wouldn't be the man you are today?"

"Who am I," Harry asked, looking at the woman who had taught him so much.

"You are a chevalier. You are doing what you feel is right at the moment. Your time for healing and studying has come to an end. Now is time for action."

"But what if they need me to heal?"

"You can prevent injuries by taking those rabid dogs off of the street," the Veela said firmly. "You leave the healing to us women-folk and you can go hunt down the Death Eaters."

"Maybe I should have a chat with the Minister."

"Yes, you should. I think she has realized that her way of viewing the law strictly and holding back her forces from using certain spells cost a lot of lives. We all learn as we live, and you wouldn't be living if you didn't."

"What could I do with this healing?"

"Even if you never work in a hospital, you will have the knowledge. This knowledge will help you save the lives of people in the field, and, if necessary, make the deaths of evil ones quick and painless. That's why all Veela Warriors are required to be field healers at the basic level. Not only does it help you keep your fighting force in top shape, but it helps you make better decisions.

"Think about it. You treated or ordered treatment for over a thousand casualties in forty hours. That is a tremendous strain for anyone, but you did it and did the best job anyone could ask for. Statistically speaking, with only two trained healers, more people should have died. But they didn't. You and Daphne did the best job you could do. And you helped prepare for war by making potions.

"Yes, you should stockpile the potions again, and I will help you make them, along with my cousins. But you are the warrior, Harry. You learned to make hard decisions that one must make in a war time situation. There will come a time where you may have to leave someone to die in order to protect more lives or take out your enemy to prevent him killing more people."

Harry nodded and looked at his friend.

"Annabelle, you are a good friend."

"Thank you, Harry," she said, with a smile. "Now let's get you to meet with the Minister, Mr. Hit Wizard."

Harry smiled and then stood up. He looked down at his robes, which were healer-green. He shook his head and waved his wand at them. They changed from Healer Green to Hit Wizard Blue. He removed the band that marked him as a healer.

It was time for the Phoenix Warrior to return.

* * *

When Daphne saw Harry wearing a dark blue assault outfit, she knew that he was done healing. He exhibited an aura about him that had people moving out of his way and not quite understanding why they did it. Several people who wanted to speak with him held their tongues, including Madam Pomfrey, who watched one of the best Dark Magic healers she had ever seen walk by.

More than one person shivered as they realized that the Death Eaters were in for it now.

"The Phoenix Warrior has returned," Daphne whispered, watching Harry strode into the corridor heading toward the Charms classroom, where Minister Bones had made her temporary office.

"Phoenix Warrior?" Fleur asked.

"Harry's nickname in America. Criminals feared the Phoenix Warrior because of his lack of empathy for their lives when they threatened innocent lives. Just like a phoenix."

Fleur smiled.

"Our Harry is not going to stay on the sidelines anymore," Fleur added.

"No, he is not," Daphne said. "So, how did your date with the dragon handler go last night?"

* * *

Minister Bones looked up from her work.

"Minister, Mr. Potter wishes to speak with you."

"Send him in," Amelia said to her guard. She was about to speak when she saw Harry's mode of dress and his demeanor. "What can I do for you, Mr. Potter," she asked, after a moment of contemplation.

"Would it be a problem for you if I went hunting Death Eaters? Just for intelligence purposes and to take a few rabid dogs off of the street?"

The woman arched an eyebrow.

"Mr. Potter, are you saying that you are willing to kill the Death Eaters?"

"Look at what they did to a hospital. They attacked healers trying to save the lives of women and children. Voldemort has taken off the gloves, and its time we do the same."

"Mr. Potter, I don't have the people to do this kind of work."

"I'll just need Moody, Tonks, and Shacklebolt," Harry said. "And the rest of your people can clean up after us."

"What do you want with them?"

"I want to form a strike force that will actively search for the Death Eaters and attack them where they lay in their beds at night. Our people do not feel safe even in places where Death Eaters had feared to tread before. That is no longer the case, and the Ministry of Magic building was taken over. We lost St. Mungos, and they wouldn't mind slaughtering the vast majority of the people in Hogwarts at this moment.

"So I don't think we should be showing them any quarter. We should raise the Jolly Roger and declare no quarter will be given."

"Mr. Potter, I should reprimand you for this kind of comment," She said, as she reached for a document on the bottom of a stack. She glanced at it to see if it was the right one before writing something on it. She handed it to Harry, who glanced at it.

"This is your hunting license, Mr. Potter. There is no bag limit. Dead or alive."

"Yes ma'am," Harry said, his face as serious as he can be.

"I know that your wife will wish to discuss a few things with you, but I have a few more things. Later, we're going to award you for your actions in the past few days to heal so many people."

Harry nodded.

"If the award is going to be money, donate it to St. Mungos. They need a lot of money to rebuild."

The Minister smiled.

"Now, what do you plan on doing with this permission, Mr. Potter?"

Harry grinned evilly.

"Let's just say that I will show them why you do not piss off a Master Curse-breaker, Master Ward Crafter, Master Combat Magic Specialist, Senior Healer, and a Potions Journeyman."

"A Potions Master, Mr. Potter," the woman said, handing him another document. "You have another qualification to your impressive list. You shouldn't have to ask what this is for. Your wife provided all of the evidence we needed."

Harry nodded and smiled as he rolled up the certificate. Snivellus would sure be steaming right about now if he knew.

"Minister, does this give me the right to brew things like veritaserum and then use it on the Death Eaters?"

"If I don't hear about it, then it is not illegal, is it?"

"No ma'am," Harry said. "Just so you know, I have extra veritaserum handy if you need any."

Minister Bones grinned evilly herself as she spoke loudly after tapping a rune with her wand.

"Dawlish, go and bring me Shacklebolt, Tonks, and Moody. I have an assignment for them."

* * *

"Potter," Moody said. "What are you planning on doing?"

"I want to snatch and grab a few marked monkeys," Harry said. "The Monkeys will lead us to the intelligent ones, and then the intelligent ones will lead to the big boss."

"Marked monkeys," Tonks asked, sniggering.

"Enough funny stuff," Moody said. "The idea is sound, but how do you expect to snatch them when they sleep under some of the strongest wards we know?"

"Let's just say that I have a way around wards."

"What way is that?"

"I can't really tell you, but I can promise the wards will have a nice hole we can get through to snatch a couple for intelligence."

"After you snatch them, what are you going to do?"

"That's where we dose them with truth serum and wring their necks for every tidbit they know about the other DEs," Harry said. "After that, a nice memory charm ensures they don't know who got them, and then they end up as an early Christmas Present to the Dementors of Azkaban."

"I like it," Shacklebolt said. "But how do you expect to get away with all of this?"

"Out of sight, out of mind," Harry said. "This isn't overt warfare. We are going to make it black for a while. I want them to feel insecure in their homes and their hideouts. I want to go into a DE safe house and snatch everyone but a flunky to report back to Voldemort. I want to place spells on Voldemort's throne room so we know what kind of magazines he reads while he's taking a shit."

Moody fixed Harry with a stare before he gave him a grin.

"You have a difficult plan, Potter," he said. "So when do we begin?"

Harry smiled and spoke.

"Tonight. I happen to have the identity of a Death Eater who likes to visit local brothels. I want to go in and remove him while leaving a calling card for the others. I want the women to know that some masked man or two took their client and left without harming the others. It will help us later when the people realize we aren't out to harm them, but to harm the Death Eaters."

"And if they resist?"

"Voldemort get's a DE's head delivered to him the next morning," Harry replied, without stopping to consider what's going on. "They've taken the gloves off, and it's time we do so as well. They've attacked our hospital, our Ministry, and the people are scared shitless. I want the Death Eaters to know what it's like to have someone to fight back. Most of them don't know how to fight one on one, but in four or five to one in their favor."

"Eventually, if we do our jobs right, he will run out of Death Eater recruits and then they will start to panic. It's when they panic that we take advantage of it and …"

Harry slammed his hand on the table, causing Tonks and Shacklebolt to jump.

"Put them in Azkaban or a grave," Moody said, finishing the statement Harry gave.

"Exactly."

"So, what time do we leave?"

"First, I have some nifty toys for you that I enchanted over the years of my training."

Harry opened a trunk and tapped it with his wand. A wardrobe appeared from the trunk.

"What is that?"

"This is an enchanted wardrobe," Harry replied, as he opened the door to reveal leather boots, a body suit, harness, and a few other things such as a vest.

"What is that thing for?"

"This is our uniform for these jobs," Harry said. "The boots are made of black leather, and are enchanted to be silent, leave no footprints, to grip any surface, and to leave us comfortable. The suit is charmed for all environments, to be silent, and to suppress our magical signature and noises. The mask is charmed to silence our breathing while enhancing our hearing and vision, much like your eye, Moody.

"The vest will contain emergency potions, a blade of your choice, a throwing weapon of your choice, and various other tools I will eventually teach you to use. Everything here is the same gear that the Muggle Special Operations Forces use. The only difference is that I have modified it slightly to meet our needs in magical combat."

"Potter, I can't wear both boots," Moody said. "I've got a peg leg you know."

"Don't worry," Harry said. "We can come up with something to fix it. But for tonight, it will suffice that you wear everything you can. I won't say this will be easy, as I know a pissed off woman is a very bad thing no man wants to see."

"You've got that right, Potter," Tonks said. "And don't you forget it."

Harry gave her a lopsided grin and started tossing things in a black bag. He tossed the first filled back to Tonks, and then did the same for Moody and Shacklebolt.

"Now try on your new duds and we'll finish the brief."

* * *

When the sun went down, four masked individuals appeared in Knockturn Alley without a sound. The one in front, who crouched to see what was going on, gave a hand signal to the others. One of them slowly walked toward their target building, but did not enter. Instead, the person knelt by the wall and waved his wand.

He turned and held his index fingers together, and, though the fingers were covered in black gloves, his companions were guaranteed to see the fingers and hand signal due to their charmed masks and gloves. Two more of the group spread out to act as sentries. One of these two had a slight limp to his walk. The other, a taller man, moved slowly and silently toward his place.

When they reached their spots, both of them found a place to hide and a quick charm made them hard for anyone to see. The fourth member of the group gave the first a thumbs up and then turned to watch the building for any signs of life.

The first waved the wand and a brief blue glow encompassed the entire building. A moment later, he held his hand out, palm up. The fourth member, the smallest and with a feminine build, made her way to the first.

"Go," the first whispered, as he held out his hands to give her a boost to the second floor window. With her full weight on his shoulders, he didn't make a sound as she glanced in.

Her right foot tapped twice. _I'm going in._ He replied by tapping her right foot with his fingers twice. _Go._

She silently waved her wand and the window slowly opened marginally. Reaching into the vest, she pulled out a small ball and slid it through the window. A silent spell later, and the ball hand impacted against the wall. A gas escaped the ball and soon was blown through the other rooms by a carefully aimed spell.

The first floor had already been gassed, and the woman entered as the first man entered through the other window after casting a charm. A moment later, the window was shut, and a brief glow indicated that the window was now charmed.

Five minutes after going in, the two entry people came out quickly. The first, the smaller of the two, placed her hands over her heart, and the two sentries reached into their pockets. A moment later, there was no sign that the four had ever been there.

* * *

Upon landing, the first ripped off his mask and had a huge grin on his face.

"Good one, Tonks," Harry said.

"What did she do?" the black man said, removing his own mask.

"Well, he was in the middle of doing it when they were gassed," Harry informed Shacklebolt. "This wench decided she would ensure that he would never forget it, so she let them finish a moment before we stunned them. But of course, little did he know that we had just charmed his partner to look like a hag."

Moody gave a gruff chuckle.

"And where is our boy?"

"Flint is in the cell we prepared," Harry said. "Let's wake him up and talk to him."

Harry led the way and put his mask back on. He looked at his captive, who was obviously a marked Death Eater. Now, he was tied up and had his nakedness hidden by a robe draped over him.

Harry took out his wand and cast a spell to wake him up.

Flint awoke wide eyed but couldn't speak for a moment.

"Listen here, Flint," Harry said, in his most menacing voice. "You have information I want."

"I don't have anything."

"We can do this the easy way, or the hard way."

"What's the hard way," Flint asked.

Harry picked up a muggle hammer and placed a walnut on the table. He smashed it down with a bang, which shattered the nut and sent the pieces flying throughout the room.

"Now, what do you think your bits will do when I hit them that hard?"

Flint paled as he stared at the indention left on the wooden table. He then started to quickly talk as if his life depended on it.

* * *

When Harry left the interrogation room, he was all smiles. Shacklebolt looked at him with wide eyes.

"If I ever anger you, just go ahead and kill me," he said.

Harry grinned.

"Well, he had more information that we expected," Moody said. "I never thought that he'd be the secret keeper of a safe house."

"Then again, we wouldn't be interrogating him for that kind of information? He's a thug, right?"

"Right," Moody said. "So they're trying to out think us."

"Exactly. So that just means we interrogate everyone we get our hands on before we obliviate them."

'Why did you obliviate him?"

"So he would not remember what he told someone just in case he was rescued from prison. But I fixed that."

"How?"

"I put an untraceable tracing charm on him."

"An untraceable tracing charm?"

"It's a tracking charm of my own invention," Harry said, smugly. "The only person to be able to detect or use the charm is the person who cast it."

"Then how can you be sure that the Death Eaters don't have them on them?"

Harry smiled.

"I took care of that too. The portkey we used on him placed a shielding charm around him so he would disappear from any magical tracing net, including my tracking charm. That's a drawback of the tracking charms, but it is one we will have to deal with if he ever escapes."

"Where do we go from here with the information," Moody asked.

"We catch another one tomorrow night and see what else we can find. But I don't know if we should hit the safe house or not."

"Let's hit it," Shacklebolt said. "If they find he's gone and figure out he didn't do a runner, then they will clear out of there."

"Then why not go now," Harry asked. "We have plenty of darkness left, and the safe house is in an unpopulated area."

"Let's go," Moody said.

* * *

The next morning, the Minister would wake up to find four living and fifteen dead Death Eaters had been turned over to the DMLE. A note was found on them by Senior Auror Shacklebolt, who, while returning to his duties after a night of rest, found them gagged and tied up in a room along his patrol path he checked.

_Dear Ministry, I hope you enjoy your new friends. Mr. Smith._

None of the Death Eaters had a wand on them and all did not know who had captured them or how it happened. All they knew was they went to sleep the night before and woke up when they were forced to wake up by Aurors.

None the Death Eaters had any type of spell residue on them, but it was obvious that some of them were killed magically by the way their injuries presented. It was quite a vexing turn of events for the Ministry's Aurors.

* * *

While the Death Eaters were being interrogated, Harry was making love to his wife, who loved it when he had a good night doing manly things, as she called his excursions with the Hit Wizards.

"So, Mr. Potter," Daphne asked. "How did it go last night?"

"Well, we bagged four live ones and fifteen dead ones," he said.

"Anyone big one?"

"Yes. I caught a rat."

"A rat with a silver paw?"

"Yes," Harry said. "And he didn't survive the night."

"Pity," Daphne said. "He might have made a good source of information."

"Who said he wasn't a good one," Harry asked, his eyes flirting over to an enchanted notebook that contained all of the intelligence he had gathered the night before.

Daphne gave him a winning grin and then pounced on her husband again.

* * *

When Harry met with Minister Bones to discuss his new role in the conflict as an active duty Hit Wizard, she asked him a question.

"Peter Pettigrew was among the dead," she said. "Don't you regret we weren't able to interrogate him?"

"He would have been quite the intelligence source as Voldemort's right hand rat. He might have ratted out a few safe houses if we did have a chance to talk to him. Pity the Ministry didn't get a chance before he escaped the Aurors escorting him to Azkaban."

"And that Auror who let him escape took his place in Azkaban," Minister Bones said. "Do you think Mr. Smith will be going after more Death Eaters?"

"I don't know. But he seemed quite angry with them from the looks of them," Harry said. "Most looked like they had been beaten quite badly before they were brought here."

"Indeed," Minister Bones said. "What are your plans for today?"

"I had hoped to spend some time practicing a few spells," Harry said. "A few legal combat spells."

"I see. Where will you practice them?"

"The Headmistress kindly let me set up a dueling classroom for this purpose," Harry said. "Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't tell you that you're welcome to use it."

Minister Bones gave Harry a small smile and then she ushered him out of her office. After all, she was a busy woman.


	19. Plans in the Making

* * *

**AN: Thank you for those of you who have reviewed the story. I am getting good feedback. Sorry about the late update. I've had a lot to do with school, and I have had dozens of story ideas that take up my mind. Not all of them were good, of course, but I have to sit down and think about things before I can write on other stories. **

* * *

Over the next few nights, nearly two dozen more Death Eaters ended up in the custody of the Ministry, dead or alive. There were also reports of quite a few firefights that Aurors turned up at to find nothing but a little magic residue that was determined to have come from the Death Eaters. The person or persons who were attacking the Death Eaters were not to be found.

The public, of course, was informed every time this happened, and there was an undercurrent of hope that the war would end sooner than expected. With the loss of so many Death Eaters, the attacks seemed to almost stop.

**

* * *

MORE DEATH EATERS CAPTURED!**

**WHO ARE THESE VIGILANTES?**

**MINISTER ADDS REWARD FOR CAPTURED DEATH EATERS TO RECONSTRUCTION FUND**

Harry smiled as he read the headlines in the paper. He could feel the hope himself, as he felt much better for doing something about the Death Eaters. It also made him feel good that the bounty for each of the captured Death Eaters was placed in a slush fund that would fund the reconstruction after the battles were completed.

"Harry, darling," Daphne said, as she entered the room. "Are you hunting tonight?"

"Nope," Harry said. "We decided to give it a break."

"Why is that?"

"Easy, Daphne," Harry said. "I told them that you needed me tonight. And, of course, we can't be gone every night."

"Good point," Daphne said. "And you are making the right choices with that issue," she purred, letting her hand slide down his chest.

Harry smiled at her as he put the paper to the side. After all, it was old news to him, and he had something else to do.

* * *

When Harry walked down the halls of Hogwarts, he smiled, as the school was returning back to normal. The Great Hall was clean of patients, and the students were back in classes. However, Harry wasn't back in classes, as he was studying the Book of Merlin that he had found back in Romania over the summer. The book gave him quite a few ideas of spells to use for various purposes in this war. And he knew that these spells could lead to more inventions one day.

Daphne, of course, was too busy as a Healer to do anything else. She was either brewing potions or working in the hospital wing with the few patients who were here. Since St. Mungos was gone, Hogwarts was now serving as the hospital for the magical populace until another facility could be prepared. And that made everyone at Hogwarts stay in a bad mood.

She and Harry brewed more of their phoenix tear potions, with Daphne collecting a vial or two of tears from him every day. Of course, the Ministry now provided the ingredients for the potions, as well as an appropriate award for the two for brewing these potions that saved so many lives. The award was in the form of a million galleons, which included the continued use of these potions at St. Mungos and for the Ministry field healers.

Soon, Harry had to go visit Minister Bones about another issue. It had been some time in coming.

* * *

"Mr. Potter, please have a seat," Minister Bones said, motioning to a chair.

Harry sat down and looked at the Aurors in the room. There were several there, including an official recording quill.

"We shall begin," Minister Bones said. "This will be recorded using a solicitor-grade dictation quill to take down a transcript. Auror Williams, please start the transcript."

"This is an official inquest into the death of Patient George Vickers," Auror Shacklebolt said. "Each of those present will say their name. I am Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"I am Auror Nymphadora Tonks."

"I am Auror Joshua Williams."

"I am Minister of Magic Amelia Bones."

"I am Healer Harry Potter."

"Healer Potter," Auror Shacklebolt said. "Can you please describe what happened when you were treating Mr. Vickers?"

Harry nodded.

"Auror Shacklebolt, Mr. Vickers was a victim of a Death Eater attack within two hours of the time I saw him. He had been hit with a botched blood boiling curse that was destroying his circulation system. I had to remove the curse immediately if he was to survive.

"The counter curse for the blood boiling curse is quite complex, and an incorrect wand movement would exacerbate the problem for the patient.

"As I cast the counter curse, Molly Weasley moved up to me and grabbed my arm to get me to treat her lightly wounded son. Her interference threw off my wand movements, and the spell was cast despite my efforts to stop it. It hit Mr. Vickers. After Mrs. Weasley was escorted out of the area by Aurors, I checked Mr. Vickers and realized what had happened.

"At the time, I had no other recourse and no time to develop a counter curse for the spell I hit him with, which had added an additional curse to the patient. I was left with no other choice but to stop care and send him to be monitored by volunteers. I am told he died just an hour after I attempted treatment."

"If you had the time and people available, would it have been possible to save Mr. Vickers after he was hit with the miscast counter spell?"

"I do not believe so," Harry said. "When the miscast spell hit him, there were essentially two curses on him. Anytime you have more than one curse on a person, you need some time to plan the correct course of action. With the similar, yet different curses, any counter spell would have exacerbated one or the other curses, and it would have made the patient have an even lower chance of survival. The longer it takes to remove the curses, the lower the chances of survival for the patient. With the Blood Boiling Curse, the patient needs to have it removed and be treated as soon as possible after being hit by the curse."

"Do you think the patient would have survived if the counter curse had been cast correctly?"

"It is entirely possible. However, I do not know if he would have survived. In cases like this, it would have taken more time."

"With those phoenix tear potions, do you think the patient would have survived?"

"It would have increased his chances of survival, yes."

"But there was no clear survival or not surviving?"

"With the Blood Boiling Curse, treatment has to be given within a certain time frame. I am not certain that treatment was given in the correct time frame given the sheer number of patients and lack of healers."

"Thank you, Healer Potter," Shacklebolt said. "We will contact you if we have any further questions."

The recording stopped, and Harry sighed.

"What will happen to Mrs. Weasley?"

"We will still decide that at a later time," Minister Bones said. "Officially, we cannot comment about this matter. We are only gathering evidence to look at."

"I understand," Harry said.

"How bad was he when you hit him with the miscast spell? What exactly did it do?"

"Well," Harry said. "The counter curse for the Blood Boiling Charm is two wand movements away from being a permanent, delayed Heart Attack Curse. I don't know if that was the case here, but I'm sure whatever it resulted in was equally as horrible."

The Aurors grimaced at the thought.

"Why didn't you mention that," Shacklebolt asked.

Harry shrugged.

"Either way, it was irreparable damage to the patient after it hit him. There was no way I could save him in the time he had left."

"That is good enough," Minister Bone said. "Mr. Potter, I would like to speak with you on another matter privately. Aurors? If you'll excuse us?"

The three Aurors stood and left the room, shutting the door behind them. Minister Bones activated several privacy charms for the room and then motioned for Harry to take a seat across from her.

"Mr. Potter, what can you tell me about the Death Eaters who have arrived here?"

"Officially or unofficially?"

"Unofficially," she said. "I know you had something to do with it. And do we expect to have any more in the morning?"

"There won't be any in the morning unless your Aurors catch them," Harry said. "I'm spending today going over evidence to plan the next raid."

Minister Bones nodded.

"You know, the Aurors wonder who is catching the Death Eaters. It's obvious that the people catching them know what they are doing and make sure the Death Eaters aren't able to escape or pose a threat to anyone."

"You could leak to the press that you have a team of specially trained people who are spearheading these efforts. It wouldn't hurt to go from black to grey."

"Why is that?"

"Psychological warfare," Harry said. "Voldemort and his Death Eaters rely on being able to scare people they face in order to accomplish their objectives. We've managed to capture quite a few Death Eaters in places they thought were secure. If they know the Ministry has a team after them who can break into warded areas, they won't feel as safe and secure.

"The less safe and secure they feel, the more likely they are to be restless. That will lead to more mistakes on their part, and we can take out more of them safer and easier."

"Or they could hire goblins to create wards."

"Doesn't matter to me," Harry said. "They can hire the goblins or anyone else to make wards. The only one that is even remotely capable of making me have a hard time is a death ward, a blood ward, or the Fidelius Charm. But there are ways around all of them."

"Why aren't you going out tonight?"

"I want to start hitting them at random times. Our next raid or two will be in daylight, and that will make it much harder. It won't be big targets, but we will take out a few Death Eaters we have probable locations on."

"What good is that?"

"If we can make them insecure no matter where they are, then we have an advantage. If we can make it where they lose the advantage of being able to instill fear in people, then we are winning. We don't have to be capturing a lot of them to do this. I would like to get a lot of them off of the streets, but then again, I'm not sure how many Death Eaters he has left."

"What do you mean?"

"How many were killed and captured since June?"

"Probably about seventy or so," Minister Bones said.

"How many witches and wizards are in the United Kingdom?"

"No more than thirty thousand."

"How many of those would support the purist movement?"

"Probably no more than ten percent. And most of those will only support them financially or morally."

"Exactly. So we have about three thousand people supporting the movement. Of those, probably about three hundred or so support the actions Voldemort is taking. Some of those blood purists don't want the society to be destroyed in a war, and they want to do this using political means, not violence."

"So you're saying that we may be taking out a lot of his direct support?"

"Yes. I think so. I don't know how many for sure, and that is part of the research I am doing right now. We've taken out seventy of his followers. Seventy out of about three hundred that will support Voldemort directly. Once we take out a few more, then we will have the ability to take him on directly and I can kill him."

Minister Bones looked thoughtfully at Harry.

"Of course, I think that is going to work well. But we don't have the manpower to take on a two hundred supporters plus the creatures."

"That's where planning comes into play," Harry said. "It won't happen soon, but you should start making plans to defend Hogwarts. Voldemort will be planning on attacking Hogwarts since he realizes we're holding Death Eaters here and this is our major base. If we lose Hogwarts, then the war is essentially over."

"How can we prevent that?"

"I am studying wards that will help stop this mess," Harry said. "I will get back to you later about this, but I do believe I have a solution that may work. It's an intent-based ward, and anyone who wishes ill intent against someone inside the ward will not be able to enter until they take down the ward."

"But they can take it down."

"Not if I do this right," Harry said, cryptically. "That's all I can say about this."

"Then I will wait for your progress reports, Mr. Potter."

"I will be glad to keep you up to date as much as I can," Harry replied. "But I won't be able to reveal any of my techniques for security reasons. If anyone knows the techniques, then they will have a much easier time taking down the wards."

"I agree," Minister Bones said. "I wish we could talk more, but we both are very busy. I shall make an appointment with you in another week to keep track with what you are doing."

Harry nodded.

"I will be ready for the meeting," he said. "I will have more ideas for you to use by then. My team is considering our options and we will discuss them later when we meet again.

* * *

That evening, after dinner, Harry went to meet in the Chamber of Secrets with his team. He had provided them with portkeys that would allow them to enter the Chamber safely and secretly. It was also the location of their interrogation chambers, which they had built and warded so it seemed they were in a home somewhere. It was mind games at its best, and Harry, who had spent years with Daphne, was getting decent at these mind games.

"Potter, what are we doing tonight," Moody asked.

"Nothing," Harry said, with a smile. "I think we should lay off of them for a few days while we rest and plan our next moves."

"What moves are we going to do," Shacklebolt asked.

"I think we are going to take out a couple of Death Eaters during the day," Harry said. "It would be another significant move. I want them to be afraid of being anywhere, during any time."

"How can we accomplish that," Tonks asked. "It's hard for us to work at night when they have tighter security now."

"We will work it out," Harry promised. "If you have any ideas, let's get them out in the open. We don't have to make a final decision tonight."

The three Aurors nodded their acceptance.

"How many Death Eaters are left," Tonks asked.

"That is the question," Harry said. "I estimate Voldemort has about three hundred active supporters in the population. And we have about seventy of them killed or captured."

"But he can be recruiting outside the country," Moody said.

"We don't have evidence for that," Shacklebolt said. "Our intelligence networks aren't picking up any activities outside of the UK."

"But it doesn't mean it isn't happening," Harry said. "I have sent out letters to some friends of mine who work in various law enforcement agencies around the world. They've agreed to supply us with intelligence reports in the background, versus going through official channels."

"What did that cost you?"

"Not much," Harry said, smugly. "I have a few friends who owe me big favors. And I've arranged to teach a few of them some of the spells I've learned. They like my spells, and I know a few that will help them out while keeping us safe."

"What kind of spells?"

"Just the non-lethal incapacitation spells," Harry said. "The first ten or so I taught you."

"Ah," Tonks said. "Those aren't too bad. And I'm sure that there are many people who would pay good money to get them."

"I know. I've agreed to train some of the Aurors, War Mages, and Unspeakables in other countries in return for weekly intelligence reports on Voldemort and his forces. They don't have to give me anything that will compromise any of their agents, but they will give me information."

"How can you get it?"

"Technomancy," Harry said.

"What do you mean," Shacklebolt asked.

"We have developed a secure, magical method of transferring large amounts of information within minutes," Harry said. "It's based off of the Mundane Internet and computer communications systems."

"How do you access it here?"

Harry motioned them over to his office, and he opened the door to reveal a desktop computer.

"This is a computer," he said. "I've been using it to print out our intelligence reports for our meetings, as well as to help us keep up with Death Eater activities. I'm also in contact with my friends through this."

"What intelligence have you gotten so far?"

"Nothing more than what we already know," Harry said. "The LE agencies in Europe and North America are following this situation with great interest. I also believe Asian authorities are following the war too. They don't want it to spread to their countries, and I don't blame them one bit."

"Neither do I," Tonks said.

"When is our next attack, and where," Moody asked, trying to get things back on track.

"What do you suggest?"

"I suggest we go after Jugson," Moody said. "He's a mid-level Death Eater and he may have more information. He is also wealthy enough that we can take out financial support too."

Harry nodded. The Ministry was heavily fining the Death Eaters that were captured alive. It was aimed at shutting down the financial support Voldemort and his followers had. If they could shut down the financial support, then they would have a better chance of making them desperate, and taking away their resources to hire healers and get potions for the troops.

And it would make it harder for them to arm those who lost their wands.

"His house is located here," Shacklebolt said. "He has quite a few wards up and we will need to recon the manor to see what kind of defenses he has there."

"I can do that tomorrow evening," Harry said.

"We can, Potter," Moody said. "We don't want you to do this alone. It could be a trap to capture you. They may start letting us get information about their people and then have more than we can handle there."

"True," Harry said. "But I have a way to sneak into a warded area and detect the types of wards without setting off any detectors."

"How is that," Shacklebolt asked.

"I can't tell you, Shack," Harry said. "It's a proprietary technique that I only learned as a Gringotts cursebreaker. They won't let me teach anyone else the method without their approval."

"I guess I can understand," Moody said. "But then again, how do they know this? Can they do it?"

"It's a hard skill to master," Harry said. "Maybe one or two goblins in the world can master it. I happen to be apprenticed to one such goblin who did master the technique. He was able to teach me."

The three Aurors shared a look. If there were only one or two goblins in the world who could do that, then Harry would definitely be the only wizard capable of doing it.

"Very well," Moody said. "We won't ask too much about it because we know you can't talk about it."

"You're right," Harry said. "But let's get back on track. If we do this right, I can add in another set of wards over the area that will allow us to stop them from traveling."

"How is that possible?"

"I recently learned a technique that will allow me to place wards of my own over existing wards without anyone knowing. All it will take is for me to activate them and we have them trapped inside my wards."

Moody grinned.

"And can you have a ward that will incapacitate them?"

"Yes. I can put up a Death Ward."

"A modified Death Ward, you mean," Moody said. "I know you can modify Death Wards, but it is very difficult."

"You are right. I do have a technique I can use to make a ward put everyone to sleep for two hours after I activate it."

"How long does it take you to put them up?"

"Four hours," Harry said. "And it's all I can do in a night."

"Then we will prepare to use that method," Moody said. "Can you make it to activate after you put it up?"

"Yes."

"Let's focus on warding several areas," Moody suggested. "Then we can come back later with an Auror Strike Force to take out the Death Eaters and send them to Graniteville."

Graniteville was the new Ministry prison building. Trusted and sworn Unspeakables and Aurors ran the prison, and they had set it up over a period of weeks. Harry had been contracted to ward it for the Ministry, and he was doing that officially during daylight hours since he could do a lot of the work while in the Fidelius Charm covered area.

"Let's make plans for that," Harry said. "What targets do we need to ward? It will take several weeks to ward the targets because we want to have time to make several attacks as well."

Moody nodded.

"Let's just ward the large manors and then capture the owners when we know they are there," Tonks suggested. "Maybe we can use some sort of tracking device or ward to let us know when they are within the target area and who is there."

Harry paused and nodded. He'd just read about such a ward in Merlin's book.

"I have a ward that can do that, but I need to test it first," Harry said. "I'll speak with the Minister and Headmistress McGonagall about warding Hogwarts to see how the ward works. Then we can discuss adding it to other areas."

"Aye, lad," Moody said. "But for now, let's sit down here and write out our plans."

"I agree," Tonks said. "We shouldn't do anything of this magnitude without planning. And we should involve the Minister at some point. She may have some suggestions about locations."

"I'm ok with that," Harry said. "But as long as we swear everyone who knows about this into secrecy. One word to the wrong ear, and this can be blown wide open against us."

The others nodded, and they settled down to work.

* * *

Two days later, Harry and company were prepared for their first big foray in the day time. They were prepared for the worst, and had decided to attack a Death Eater's home in broad daylight, which was quite the undertaking. The monitoring wards had been set, and they knew their target was in place. The reinforcing Hit Wizard squad was also ready for action.

With a nod to his people, Harry held out the portkey and they left the Shreaking Shack for their destination: the Parkinson Summer Home in Kent.


	20. An Explosive Ending

This isn't exactly the best chapter. It's hard to work on fanfiction when one has too many plot ideas and then is in graduate school trying to worry about comprehensive exams and masters projects. I'm sorry for the wait, as it is entirely my fault for not putting the time in for this.

* * *

When the portkey arrived, the team silently spread out and looked around for danger. All were wearing full up body protection, things that Harry had worked on and made better over the past few weeks and months of his life. This wasn't grounds for them to become careless and trust their gear.

All four of the experienced raid team members knew that they had to keep alert and anything could go wrong. They had experienced things going wrong in previous missions, but this was the first attack against a heavily warded residence of an inner-circle Death Eater.

Once the area was clear, Harry looked at the map that the monitoring wards were tied to. He scanned it quickly and noted the small green dots that indicated marked Death Eaters. Powerful wizards were indicated with a red circle around the dot, and there were three of those there. Three powerful Death Eaters.

Harry held up three fingers. Then he made the arranged symbol for powerful: the thumb and index finger were together in a circle, while the other three fingers were in a plane with the rest of his hand. The others gave him the acknowledgement symbol, and then they gathered around Harry while Moody kept his eye looking out for trouble.

"Ok," Harry whispered, as he pointed at the map. "We have ten marked and three powerful marked. This will be the hardest raid yet."

"ID?"

Harry nodded and pointed to a list on the side. They had managed to find a way to copy wand signatures from the Ministry's wand records database and compare it to the signatures the wards picked up. George Parkinson, Damien Valentine, and Nicolas Redwood were the three powerful inner-circle Death Eaters there. At least they felt they were inner-circle from the intelligence they had collected.

The other death eaters were new recruits, or part of the Parkinson family.

Harry glanced at his monitors one more time before they headed to the sight. After giving the signal, the four split up to reach their attack positions. Harry waited to rip down the wards and was monitoring the map. Since they had no way of communicating, they were on a timed attack. But first, if the wards didn't go down, then they would know that Harry had aborted the attack. It was safer that way.

Just as Harry was ready to tear down the wards, he saw quite a few more people arrive via portkey. A moment later, he backed off and returned to the meeting point, which was where the others would return to if Harry didn't set off the wards to signal the attack.

Ten minutes later, the others were back. Moody gave him a look.

Harry crossed his index fingers. _More arrived_. Moody nodded and then signaled for the portkey. Harry nodded, and the four were gone from the sight.

When the portkey landed, they activated a series of portkeys that took them through several locations around the United Kingdom. Several of the locations were secured by the Fidelius Charm, and Harry had placed it himself to use as safe houses around the area. This would prevent the Death Eaters from tracking them.

* * *

An hour after the canceled raid, Moody spoke.

"Well, what was it?"

"Voldemort himself showed up with about two dozen more Death Eaters," Harry said.

"Aye, good call, lad," Moody said. "We couldn't have taken them."

Harry nodded his agreement.

"I know," he said. "But I will be watching them to see what they do. What they do not know is that I have added a few discrete tracking spells that will follow them."

"What does it do?"

Harry grinned.

"Well, I found a book that allowed me to make it," he said. "All I will tell you is that anyone with the Dark Mark will soon have the tracking spell applied and, once it is there, the only way to remove it is to remove their magic."

Moody grinned at Harry.

"What about You-Know-Who," Tonks asked.

"Let's just say he'll have to remove all of his magic too."

Tonks grinned as the Shacklebolt gave Harry a thumbs up.

* * *

Over the next few days after the failed raid, Harry kept a close eye on the tracking charms. He realized that there were only two dozen tracking charms active, and that should indicate that there were that few Death Eaters, he surmised. He hadn't told Moody and the others that it would perpetrate through the Dark Mark itself, and they didn't have to have close contact with anyone else with the mark for that to happen.

When he saw them all in one place, he made a call.

"Moody, Shacklebolt, we have a Class IV Hot Operation."

The Aurors looked at Harry.

"A Class IV? Are you sure," the veteran Auror asked his friend.

"I am, Moody," Harry said. "Let's get everyone together and see if we can't end this once and for all."

Ten minutes later, the remnants of the Auror Corps, Hit Wizard Squad, and Unspeakables all met in the Ministry's meeting room.

"Potter, what is the meaning of this," Minister Bones demanded.

"I have gathered intelligence that all of Voldemort's Death Eaters are in one spot, and if we move now, we can take them out and take him out."

"Numbers?"

"He has about two dozen Death Eaters plus himself."

"Location?"

"Under the Fidelius Charm."

A few Aurors snickered.

Harry turned to glare at them for a moment before he spoke.

"I will break that damn Fidelius Charm and they will know we're coming. It is a hot operation."

"And Lethal Force is authorized," Minister Bones said, examining the document Harry handed to her. "Mr. Potter, you're in charge. I will hold the back-up and stay here."

Harry nodded.

"What's the plan?"

Harry grinned.

"We're going to break through their wards and then put up some of our own to keep them there. Then, we kill them."

Some of the Aurors blanched, and Harry smirked when he saw one trying to send a messenger spell. Instead of leaving the room, it spoke loudly.

"My Lord, Aurors on their way," The voice said.

"Did I mention that I warded this room against all unauthorized communications, traitor," Harry asked, an evil glint in his eye.

"AVADA…"

Before the Auror, Dawlish, could finish, his head rolled on the ground from Harry's cutting spell.

"Now, does anyone else wish to betray us," Harry asked, in a cold voice, as his eyes scoured the room. There was no movement as everyone was in shock.

"He murdered an Auror," one of the new recruits said.

"Recruit," Minister Bones said. "Dawlish was about to use Lethal Force on Auror Potter. Proceed, Potter."

Harry waved his wand and a map of the area ended up on the board.

"This is their location. They are located in Kent, in the Parkinson Summer Home. It is heavily defended with Death Wards and Death Eaters. I also have indications that there are at least three trolls on the premises.

"The parameters for this operation are that anyone who points a wand at you is hostile and should be taken down with lethal force," Harry said, coldly. "We do not take chances."

"What if a kid attacks me," One Auror asked.

"If they attack, they become enemy combatants," Harry said. "The rules of war are specific on this issue."

* * *

Ten minutes later, Harry had the Auror teams ready to go. He was going in first with his team and they would head for Voldemort.

An hour later, the assault force was in place and Harry had his map out looking at the surrounding area. Nothing had changed, and he knew they were planning something, probably a recruiting drive since they had so few Death Eaters. It could also be an attack, or Voldemort just wanted all of his people in one place.

After checking the wards again, Harry smirked as he placed the finishing touches on his ward stones, which were surrounding the area. When he activated the wards, the other wards would be totally destroyed, including the Fidelius Charm, and it was all thanks to Merlin's book that he was able to do this safely. It had given him many hints since he'd gotten it and he was glad that he had found the book. It would save many lives.

He gave the signal of one minute to go and set the last charging rune on the last warding stone. It would take a minute to pass through to the other warding stones that he set up and then it would immediately put up his wards and tear down the others by absorbing all of their energy to produce the other wards in a hurry without draining the attackers. Harry, of course, planned on letting no one know about this method, as it was a surefire way of getting a lot of people to attack others and break down the wards of places they could defeat.

Exactly one minute after he gave the signal, there was a loud crashing sound and lightning in the sky as the wards took effect and destroyed the others.

When the wards fell, Harry and his team were on the move already, and had sent a flurry of spells against three trolls that were in their area. The trolls didn't stand a chance, as the powerful blasting spells tore them to pieces.

The four didn't even stop to admire their handy work. There would be time for that later. Three Death Eaters started to shoot curses out of a second floor window, but the attacking force replied with a flurry of spells against all windows, which was their plan.

The spells broke through glass, and the screams of pain from several Death Eaters indicated the spells had hit. A moment after the other teams hit, Harry felt the attempted escapes through the wards. He smiled as the wards rebuffed the magic, and it would momentarily stun whoever had tried to leave.

Blasting through the door and sending in several blasting spells, Harry dodged a killing curse that headed his way.

"POTTER!" came Voldemort's familiar voice.

"Hello, Tom," Harry said, in a loud voice. "Long time no see, my half-blood friend."

Harry got another killing curse in response, but he sent three more dark arts spells at Voldemort as the Death Eaters around him were taken out by the attacking Aurors. Harry heard a scream as one of his people went down, but he couldn't turn to look. He had to trust the others to do their job and care for the wounded.

Dodging two more killing curses, Harry sent one back at Voldemort, surprising the wizard. But he dodged the curse with ease, and the battle was on.

As they flung spells back and forth at each other, the room was getting destroyed by the powerful magic being sent forth.

"I see you've learned quite a bit, Potter," Riddle said, as he batted away one of Harry's dark cutting spells. "Using Dark Magic too. We could be quite a team, you know."

"The only team I want you to be on is the team of the dead, you fuckwit," Harry replied, using one of the terms he'd learned from an American friend. Harry sent two spells at Voldemort, who dodged them with ease.

But the evil sorcerer walked right into Harry's killing curse. The last thing on his face was shock that he'd been beaten.

When Voldemort fell, Harry didn't stop moving. He summoned the man's wand, snapping it over his knee, and then sending a spell that would burn all of the magic in the corpse, making it impossible to revive him. It was one of the counters to necromantic rituals, Harry had learned, during his education.

The gray spell hit Voldemort, and, when it did, because the body was a magical construct, it exploded, and Harry's world went black.

* * *

Outside, the Aurors were shocked as the building seemed to explode. They knew that there was at least one of them in there: Potter.

The Aurors had evacuated the building once it had begun to shake and threaten to collapse in on itself during the duel between Harry and Voldemort.

When it exploded, however, the Aurors looked on in shock and horror.

"Get in there to find Potter!" Moody yelled, as he glanced over at a wounded and pale Shacklebolt. Tonks was tending to Shacklebolt's wounds as a healer team arrived. Daphne was on the team.

"Where's Harry, Shack," Daphne asked the black Auror, as she examined his wound.

"In there," the black Auror said, reluctantly, indicating the building with his good arm.

Daphne's eyes went wide in shock for a moment, and then she froze. Her Harry was in that building and she didn't know what to do.

Tonks realized what was happening, and she moved over to grab Daphne as the brunette's tears started to fall down her face. Tonks hugged Daphne close, and the healer started to sob, knowing that it would take a miracle for anyone to survive an explosion like the one she heard described on her way there.

Several hours after the explosion, there was a shout as Aurors removed the debris.

"WE'VE FOUND HIM!"

Several people converged on the site immediately. To their surprise, it was Voldemort's body, or what was left of it. His broken wand was in pieces by him and Moody spoke in a gruff voice.

"It's over," he said. "Potter should be nearby."

* * *

By the time the sun rose again, the sight had been cleared and there was no sign of Harry. It was surprising to everyone that they couldn't find him.

Daphne sniffled as she grabbed onto one of Harry's shirts. It reminded her of what she lost, and hoping that her Harry was alive. Her mind told her that he was probably gone, but her heart told her that he was alive.

There was a knock at her room and she stood and walked to the door, opening.

"Yes?"

"Miss Greengrass…" Minister Bones said.

"It's Mrs. Potter," Daphne said, showing her ring.

"When?"

Daphne gave a wistful smile.

"We eloped last weekend to get away from the press."

The woman smiled slightly.

"I come bearing news."

Daphne nodded and sat down, clutching the shirt that she'd been holding to since Harry had gone missing.

"We cleared the sight and found Voldemort's body. It seems Mr. Potter killed him."

Daphne smiled.

"I knew he could do it," She said. "Where was Harry?"

"His body is missing."

Daphne closed her eyes for a moment and then they opened again. She ran out of the room, forgetting she wore only a pair of shorts and a tank top. She had her wand with her, and she ran out of Hogwarts, ignoring everyone who called for her.

When she got outside of the wards, she immediately disapparate and appeared in Diagon Alley. She ran to Gringotts and immediately entered the bank.

One of the tellers recognized her and spoke.

"Mrs. Potter, please follow me," the goblin said.

Five minutes later, Daphne threw herself on Harry's sleeping form, crying. She felt an arm come around her, and she looked up to see Harry's green eyes looking at her, a smile on his face.

"I wondered when you would realize about my emergency portkey," he replied.

"You scared me, you fool," Daphne said, right before she kissed Harry. "Why didn't you contact me?"

"I can explain that, Mrs. Potter," Ragnok said.

"You'd better have a good explanation," Daphne said, glaring at the goblin leader.

The goblin only chuckled.

"The reason we didn't contact you was because he only just arrived. I don't know where he was before that."

Daphne turned to Harry with a raised eyebrow and her hands on her hip.

"Mistress Daphne," Dobby the house elf said, popping in. "I's took Master Harry to Potter Manor and then brought him here when I couldn't help him."

Daphne nodded and looked at Harry.

"We're hiring that elf," She said, point blank.

Harry smiled and then Dobby gave a large smile back to them.

Daphne snuggled up to Harry in the bed again.

"This time, you're not leaving my side until I tell you that you can," she said.

"I can't handle that, Mrs. Potter," Harry said.

"I hope so, Mr. Potter," Daphne replied. "Besides, you owe me."

"I know. I owe you a lot."

"And you'll pay even more once our son is born," Daphne said.

Harry's eyes opened wide and looked at Daphne, who gave him a smile, her hand on her stomach. He grinned and kissed. For him, all was well, and getting better. Voldemort was gone, and he was going to be a father. There was nothing better than that for him.


	21. Epilogue

**AN: This is a long-awaited epilogue. I just finished rereading the story today and decided that it needed an epilogue of sorts to clear up some loose ends that people wanted closed. **

After healing from his injuries, Harry returned to Hogwarts for a hero's welcome. The press and the public hounded him for days, so much that Harry and Daphne chose to go public with their training. It was necessary for their plans, as they had to reveal their true mental and physical ages for the public to accept that Daphne was pregnant.

Once their history was revealed, Harry and Daphne resigned from Hogwarts, though they continued to study in the areas they had begun for their own reasons. After leaving Hogwarts, the Potters purchased a new house and Harry warded it to his highest standards, meaning that few people could get into the house. It was necessary due to his fame for defeating Voldemort permanently, as well as the revelations that he had traveled in time.

Within eight months of Voldemort's defeat, Daphne gave birth to Daniel Jameson Potter. She would later give birth to two more children, Andrew Steven Potter and Delilah Minerva Potter. She would continue her work as a potions mistress and a healer, spending part of her time at St. Mungos, and the other part researching healing potions.

Harry would spend much of his time studying Merlin's Book of Magic, and he would develop or modify spells in this book that he would release to the public, gaining fame and accolades for his work in rediscovering ancient magic. He, too, would study healing, but his focus was on spell damage. When he wasn't studying or spending time with his family, Harry was at St. Mungos working as a Spell Damage consultant, or working as a warding/curse-breaking consultant for Gringotts, Hogwarts, and the Ministry of Magic, leaving him with plenty of things to do when he chose to work on them. He remained as a Hit Wizard, but only in a part-time, reserve status.

Fleur would eventually return to Harry and Daphne after her attempts at dating. She couldn't find anyone who she wanted to have more for a husband, so, with Daphne's permission, Fleur and Harry had a public ceremony to proclaim their relationship status, with Fleur being publicly named and shown as his concubine through the public ceremony. Fleur and Harry would have two kids together: Dominique and Laura. Fleur would eventually become a healer, and she, when not working her full-time job as the Hogwarts Hospital Wing Matron, would help Daphne and Harry perform research into healing spells and potions.

Hermione would eventually marry Neville, and the couple would travel the world learning. Neville would study plants, and Hermione would study other forms of magic. Hermione and Neville would eventually work together to discover a new magical species of plant. The plant led to Daphne discovering a potion that would allow Alice Longbottom to recover from her injuries enough to have something resembling a life. Frank, however, died from his injuries, having never recovered despite the use of the best potions and healing techniques wizards, and muggles, knew.

Ginny, who had been on the straight and narrow since being caught, eventually married Dean Thomas when she realized that Harry was not interested in her at all. She would enjoy her life as a chaser for the Holyhead Harpies before she became a mother and a sports reporter.

Ron would never forgive Harry for marrying that Slytherin bint, as he called her. Instead, he barely got into the NEWT classes, and he barely got his NEWTs. He would later find a job working for minimum wages as an equipment manager for his beloved Chudley Cannons. He would never manage to make it to play Professional Quidditch, nor would he become more than an assistant coach.

Sirius eventually settled down after the war, marrying Annabelle, whom he had gotten to know when she had come to spend time at Hogwarts. It wasn't unusual to have Adrienne in their bed as well. He would have several children of his own, and he would dote on them until he died in his sixties of a heart attack after a rousing night of sex with his Veela lovers.

As for Magical Britain, things slowly changed when people realized that it was their society that allowed the war and damage to happen. Their country slowly rebuilt itself, with Minister Bones leading the charge. Harry and Daphne would offer advice to those who asked, but neither wished to take a position in the Wizengamot, at Hogwarts, or the Ministry beyond what they had already done. The public liked them much better that way, and no one person would ever have as much statutory control over the Wizarding World as Fudge or Dumbledore ever had.

Not to say that people didn't have a lot of influence. Harry and Daphne continued to be positive influences in the wizarding world until their deaths three-quarters of a century after Voldemort's defeat. Fleur joined them in death a few years later.


End file.
